Zirakpur (Punjab) [India], September 13 (ANI): Former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupendra Singh Hooda criticised the staet government for lack of flood relief measures and said that the government is not taking concrete steps to help and provide relief to the flood victims. He made the remarks in a press conference on Friday.

He noted that people are very angry at the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) government for not taking flood relief measures and how there has been huge devastation in Haryana due to the floods.

'18 lakh acres of standing crops of farmers have been destroyed by the flood. About six thousand villages, 11 cities and 72 towns have been affected by the flood. Four lakh farmers have uploaded information about crop damage on the portal, while the number of victims is much more than this', Hooda said during a press conference.

He underscored that the government should immediately give compensation to the farmers at the rate of Rs 70 thousand per acre.

The former Chief Minister, who returned to Chandigarh after visiting various districts of the state, while talking to the media said that this time the situation is worse than the flood of 1995.

He visited many areas, including Yamunanagar to Rohtak, and heard the problems of the people.

'Fields, crops and poplars adjacent to Yamuna were washed away. Sugarcane crops have been uprooted from the roots and large amounts of sand has accumulated in the fields, making it impossible to sow the crop of the next season. Illegal mining in the area is responsible for making the flood more horrific,' he said.

Bhupendra Hooda also said that the Prime Minister and the Agriculture Minister should have taken stock of the damage caused in Haryana, like they did in Punjab.

'Haryana should have received a special package. The Prime Minister not coming to Haryana shows the big failure of the state government. On top of that, the state government is playing a dirty joke with the people in the name of compensation. The announcement of giving compensation at the rate of only seven to 15 thousand rupees per acre is like rubbing salt on the wounds of the farmers. When the initial cost of the farmers is 30 to 35 thousand rupees per acre, the annual lease is about 70 thousand per acre, in such a situation, compensation of only seven thousand rupees per acre cannot provide relief to the farmers', he said.

The former Chief Minister demanded compensation of 60 to 70 thousand rupees per acre to the farmers and said that the loss of houses, shops, buildings and other establishments of thousands of people should be compensated immediately.

'When the government has to register cases of stubble burning, it takes a decision on the basis of satellite. Can't the government see the floods in the fields through satellite now?', Hooda said that when a similar flood had occurred in 1995, the Congress government had given cash compensation to the farmers for every loss including the crops, farm sheds, tube wells, all houses and shops. (ANI)