Floods wreck havoc in Punjab

Heavy downpours worsened condition in Punjab and Haryana
Heavy downpours in both the states worsened the conditions of people, land, and crops, especially paddy. Over 3.25 lakh acres of land submerged due to floods, causing a loss of around Rs.480 crore, as per the official figures.

Continuous rains also led to increase in the death toll. Nearly 51 people lost their lives. As per the official figures, 26 people were killed due to flood-related reasons in Haryana, while 25 people were killed in Punjab.

There was a decline in rainfall in the last few days in Haryana, but Ambala, Kurukshetra, Kaithal, Sirsa, and Fatehabad districts were still the worst hit flood areas.

Kumar Rahul, deputy commissioner of Mansa, said, “Although there has been no fresh breach, the flood situation is grim in some parts of Sardulgarh area. Our relief operation is on and the water level has also marginally receded since Saturday.”

“Nearly 20,000 houses have been damaged in Mansa district and over 9,000 acres of agricultural land has been inundated," Rahul added.

Presumably, sudden breach in Ghaggar River was the cause for flood in the states.

Huge loss of paddy hard on farmers
Apart from the chaos caused by the floods, poor farmers’ land now requires re-cultivation and procurement of fresh paddy saplings.

This has become a boon for nurseries and plant managers, who have increased the saplings price due to shortage.

Prices of vegetables have also escalated due to shortage.

Plantation drive by MC
A plantation drive was organized by Shromani Akali Dal (SAD) on July 16, under which five saplings will be planted within 15 days. The prime motive is to check the fast depletion of the trees that caused water logging and flood situations in the state and the district.

Bathinda MP Harsimrat Badal initiated the campaign by visiting schools and handing over saplings to people living in the districts of Bathinda.

The saplings were distributed in the areas of Kothe Thande, Kahansinghwala, Joganand, Khialiwala, Khemuana, Har Raipur, Amargarh and Gillpati villages during her Sangat Darshan programme.

Besides Bathinda, the plantation drive also kicked off in Chandigarh. In sector 28, the drive was initiated by UT Advisor Pardip Mehra by building nearly 100 saplings, while in Sector 19, Anju Beniwala started the drive that was furthered by Chief Engineer S S Bidda, and other officers and residents of the area.

Chandigarh the first city to have tobacco control norms
Besides being famous for greenery and cleanliness, Chandigarh became the first city to comply with the conditions of Framework Convention of Tobacco Control (FCTC), which restricts any kind of association of government with the tobacco industry.

According to the provisions, the government will have to report any discussions carried on by any government functionary and associates.

The Chandigarh Administration might license all forms of tobacco trade to stop the illegal and unabated sale and use of lethal and cancerous tobacco.