Chandigarh: As Punjab grapples with widespread flooding across the state, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has called a cabinet meeting this evening at his official residence to discuss the worsening situation and plan the next phase of relief operations.
Sources said the Chief Minister, who had recently fallen ill and postponed his visit to inundated areas, will use the meeting to gather district-level reports and direct the deployment of further resources. Ministers are expected to consider both short-term relief measures and long-term rehabilitation strategies.
Government figures reveal the scale of the crisis: 1,902 villages under water, more than 3.84 lakh residents impacted, and 43 fatalities recorded so far. Agricultural losses are staggering, with nearly 1.72 lakh hectares of farmland damaged—Gurdaspur alone accounting for over 40,000 hectares.
To speed up assistance, gazetted officers have been stationed in every district to oversee ground-level work and ensure that families in flood-hit areas receive aid without delay.
The calamity, said to be the most severe since 1988, has drawn the attention of the Centre. Three assessment teams from New Delhi are already touring Punjab, while Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan described the floods as “an unparalleled tragedy” during his visit.
The state government is now under pressure to deliver a coordinated response as citizens await relief and reassurance after weeks of devastation.
