With the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Punjab drawing flak from various quarters for allegedly “failing” the people over the devastating floods across the state, several AAP ministers and leaders are going all out to prove otherwise — even as the Bhagwant Mann-led government has cranked up its machinery for rescue and relief.
A video surfaced Monday showing the Education Minister and Anandpur Sahib MLA, Harjot Singh Bains, digging up earth and filling bags with it, then using the same to plug breaches along the Bhakra main line canal. With his white kurta-pyjamas stained with mud and his turban covered with sack cloth, in the manner of local farmers, a drenched Bains says: “We have faced heavy rains here resulting in 12 breaches in the canal. Had we not plugged the breaches, they would have harmed a few villages. Our youths and government machinery worked overtime to do it.”
Another video doing the rounds on social media features AAP leader and Transport Minister Laljit Singh Bhullar, who is shown rowing a boat in his Patti Assembly constituency to ferry local resident Chhinda and his family members to their house in Kot Buddha village, which had been submerged for weeks.
In the beginning of the video clip, Bhullar says, “They (Chhinda family) are like my kin. I am with them in their joys and sorrow. Chhinda wanted to go to see his house which they left 22 days ago. I am ferrying them to their home.” While rowing the boat, he also displays an oar to say that it can’t even touch the ground given the high water level.
After reaching their house, Bhullar is shown walking barefoot and checking the building for damages, and consoling Chhinda, who breaks down on seeing the condition of his house. “Our government will compensate for the damages, you (Chhinda) do not have to worry,” he says.
Speaking to The Indian Express Wednesday, Bhullar said, “They (Chhinda’s family) were camping on the bund of Sutlej river after Harike barrage flooded their village. When I went to meet them for relief, they insisted that I should visit their house with them. They were at least satisfied on seeing their home.”
In the Bhoa constituency in Pathankot, where the swollen Jalalia and Ujh rivers have left at least a dozen villages flooded, AAP MLA and Food and Civil Supplies Minister Lal Chand Kataruchak has been reaching flood-hit areas in a motorbike to give locals ration bags. His video shows him consoling a grieving flood victim, telling her: “This is the land of Baba Nanak. Nobody faces losses forever. Everything will be alright. More crops will grow if this one is lost.”
Chief Minister Mann has also pitched in. A few days ago, he left the government chopper in Amritsar, saying it would be of better use for rescue and relief of the flood victims. A video shows the CM being thanked by an elderly man for handing him a sack of ration. “This is my duty,” Mann tells him.
In Ajnala, where the Ravi river in spate has flooded large swathes of land, damaged houses and destroyed crops, AAP MLA and ex-minister Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal, has been using his tractor for the rescue operation. He posted a video of his son engaged in relief work falling into water from a tractor in the area. “God is with us. He saved my son who escaped unhurt. Like our people, we are also victims of flood. I want to tell everyone that do not lose your heart. We are all with you. Entire AAP is with the people of Ajnala,” he says.
Dhaliwal told The Indian Express, “The flood situation is challenging. However, we are trying hard to mitigate people’s hardship. We are praying to God that this gets over soon. It has rained so heavily that it was impossible for anyone to deal with it.”
Some AAP leaders like minister Tarunpreet Singh Sond and AAP MLA from Tanda Jasvir Singh Gill have also invoked God, organising ardas (prayer meetings) in gurdwaras to pray for the deluge-affected people.
Another minister Baljit Kaur was seen persuading people in Fazilka to shift to relief camps instead of staying in marooned areas. AAP Amargarh MLA Jaswant Singh Gajjanmajra was seen loading ration sacks onto a truck meant for inundated belts.
The Opposition is not far behind. Congress leader and Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the Assembly, Partap Singh Bajwa, made headlines last week when he perched himself in an all-terrain amphibious ATOR vehicle to reach the flood-hit villages in Sultanpur Lodhi.
Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) chief Sukhbir Singh Badal has provided diesel, pump sets and motor boats to the flood victims. “We have taken motor boats from a boat club in Bathinda, we want to procure more – these have come handy for the victims. We have given away 60,000 litres of diesel, and motor pumps,” said Parambans Singh Bunty Romana, an aide of Sukhbir.
Punjab has been reeling under floods for the past few weeks. The Mann government declared Tuesday all 23 districts as flood-affected. A total of 1,400 villages have been deluged, displacing 3.54 lakh people, according to Revenue Minister Hardeep Singh Mundian.
The AAP government has come under fire from the Opposition and sections of the people over its handling of the flood crisis, with questions mounting on why it ignored early warnings despite the 2023 flood havoc.