Sukhbir S Badal performs ‘ardas’ along with ‘sangat’ to pray for the end of the sufferings of people of both the ‘lehnda’ and ‘charhda’ Punjab.

Sukhbir S Badal performs ‘ardas’ along with ‘sangat’ to pray for the end of the sufferings of people of both the ‘lehnda’ and ‘charhda’ Punjab.

(Also thanks Pak govt for cleaning Kartarpur Sahib gurdwara on a priority basis, appeals for opening of the Kartarpur Corridor to allow the ‘sangat’ to visit the shrine)

(Appeals to industry associations and urbanites to come forward and help their rural brethren)

(Distributes 150 trolleys of ration and essential material to the flood hit)

Kartarpur Corridor (Gurdaspur)/ Chandigarh 31 August ( Ranjeet Singh Dhaliwal ) : Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal today participated in an ‘ardas’ along with the ‘sangat’ to pray to the almighty to put to an end the sufferings of people of both the ‘lehnda’ and ‘chardha’ Punjab who are in the grip of intense flooding which has marooned entire villages and displaced many thousands of people. The ‘ardas’, which was performed at the Kartarpur Corridor entrance, also besieged the almighty to put a stop to the incessant rain which has flooded lakhs of acres of land on both sides of the border. It also urged the almighty to bless the people of Punjab and protect their lives and livestock. The ‘ardas’, which was attended by hundreds of flood affected villagers besides Akali leaders and workers, also thanked the Pakistan government for cleaning the premises of Kartarpur Sahib gurdwara which had been submerged by flood waters on priority basis. It also called for reopening of the Kartarpur Corridor to enable pilgrims from Punjab to go to Kartarpur Sahib and perform ‘sewa’ for ‘safai’ of the holy premises. The SAD president, who visited the Corridor during a visit to flood affected villages in Gurdaspur, Dera Baba Nanak and Hargobindpur, said the misery inflicted by the floods was man made as the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government had failed to conduct flood protection works in the run up to the monsoons and had also left the people to their fate once they were inundated by flood waters. He said the situation was such that the AAP government had even failed to release money to strengthen the Madhopur barrage with one of its gates collapsing and increasing the fury of the floods. Appealing to the industry associations and urbanites to come forward and help their rural brethren in their time of need, Mr Sukhbir Badal said “today the annadata is in a crisis. It is our duty to come to his aid. I appeal to everyone to help the farmers”. He said donations could be sent to Sri Darbar Sahib from where they would be distributed for various works including medical aid to tackle diseases increasing due to death of milch animals and requirement of heavy boats to conduct relief operations. “All this is necessary as the government has failed to do its duty”, he said even as he praised the SGPC for conducting ‘langars’ and medical camps across the flood affected areas. The SAD president, who toured villages amidst incessant rain, met thousands of people with entire localities coming out to meet him and lamenting that they had not received any aid from the AAP government. The people said either government officials did not visit any flood affected village or in case they did come they clearly said they did not have any money and could not spend even Rs 1,000 for flood relief measures. “What is the need of the government?” the villagers said adding “we are waiting for the return of our Panthic government in 2027”. Badal distributed more than ten trolleys of ration and essential material collected by the party workers of Batala to the flood hit besides distributing seven trolleys of material in areas along the Kartarpur Corridor. He also flagged off 100 trolleys of relief material including ration, green and dry fodder, bricks and two JCB machines contributed by the party workers from Dinanagar. Besides visiting villages, the SAD president also interacted with ‘gujjars’ in their dera and assured to provide fodder to them for their milch animals immediately. The SAD president was accompanied by senior party leaders including Dr Daljit Singh Cheema, Suchha Singh Langah and Gurbachan Singh Babbehali, Capt Balbir Bath, Rajanbir Singh Ghuman, Surjit Singh Tugalwal, Ramandeep Singh Sandhu, Guriqbal Singh Mahal, Sukhbir Singh Walah, Naresh Mahajan and Parambir Laddi.