Punjab’s Water Resources Minister Barinder Kumar Goyal took a strong stand on Friday during a special session of the Vidhan Sabha in Chandigarh. He pushed a resolution calling for a Rs 20,000 crore special package to help flood-hit families, farmers, and rebuild damaged infrastructure across the state.
In his speech on the “Rehabilitation of Punjab” resolution, Goyal slammed the Union Government’s lack of real support. He called Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s announced Rs 1,600 crore relief a mere routine payout, not the emergency aid Punjab needs. “We haven’t even seen a rupee of that yet,” Goyal added.
Goyal reminded everyone of Punjab’s huge role in India. The state feeds the nation as its food bowl, guards borders in wars, and steps up during crises. Yet, he said, the central government turned a blind eye when Punjab suffered one of its worst floods ever—worse than the 1988 disaster.
This year’s floods wrecked over 2,300 villages, hit nearly 20 lakh people directly, destroyed crops on more than 5 lakh acres, and forced 7 lakh residents from their homes. Damage stretched to over 3,200 schools, 19 colleges, 1,400 hospitals and clinics, 8,500 km of roads, and 2,500 bridges—either smashed or swept away.
State surveys put initial losses at Rs 13,900 crore, but the Centre brushed it off with that tiny relief amount. Goyal stressed that Punjab’s people want true compassion, not empty promises, after such a massive calamity.
He pointed to the flood’s intensity: Water inflow hit a peak of 14.11 lakh cusecs, 20% higher than 1988’s 11 lakh cusecs. Nearly 10 lakh cusecs poured into Punjab through drains, streams, and rivulets. Faulty forecasts from the India Meteorological Department (IMD) made things worse. On August 24, IMD predicted just 21 mm of rain, but 163 mm actually fell. The next day, their 18 mm guess turned into 147 mm—a 717% jump. On August 26, 13 mm became 90.5 mm, over 596% more. “This shows total neglect by the central weather agency,” Goyal said.
Goyal also blamed the Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) for delays in releasing water. Punjab asked for releases when Bhakra Dam reached 1,660 feet, but BBMB waited until 1,665 feet due to strict inter-state meeting rules—putting lives and property at risk.
On top of that, declaring the Beas River a Ramsar wetland site in 2017 without input from Punjab’s water department has blocked basic de-silting and mining ever since. This led to heavy silt buildup, fueling the floods.
Despite the chaos, Goyal praised Punjab’s quick actions. The state reinforced river embankments ahead of time, plugged breaches fast, and built flood protections on a war footing. Dhussi bandhs and embankments along the Ravi, Beas, and Sutlej rivers held strong. For the first time in 50 years, channelization on the Ghaggar River stopped breaches, saving Rs 400 crore in potential damage. At Khanauri, water levels stayed at 750.7 feet for nine days straight, but no breaks happened.
Goyal urged the Centre to set politics aside and show real empathy for Punjab. The Rs 20,000 crore demand isn’t just fair—it’s vital for fixing lives, farms, roads, schools, and health centers. “Anything less betrays Punjab’s lifelong service to the nation,” he declared.
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