Punjab floods: CM writes to PM Modi, seeks release of Rs 60,000 crore

CHANDIGARH: (Aug 31) Highlighting Punjab's plight due to one of the worst flood disasters in decades, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Sunday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and urged him to release Rs 60,000 crore of the "state's funds", which he claimed are "stuck" with the Centre.

Mann also sought revision in the norms for funds available in the State Disaster Response Fund(SDRF), saying that his government wanted to pay at least Rs 50,000 per acre to affected farmers.

Punjab is under the grip of massive floods, caused by the swollen Sutlej, Beas and Ravi rivers and seasonal rivulets due to heavy rain in their catchment areas in Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir.