PHAGWARA: Sukhpal Singh Khaira MLA from Bholath assembly constituency has strongly condemned the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government led by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, holding it squarely responsible for the catastrophic floods that have devastated Punjab. Khaira termed the tragedy not a natural calamity but a “man-made disaster born out of gross negligence, incompetence, and mismanagement” by the ruling dispensation.
Khaira said that the sequence of events leading to the floods clearly exposes the government’s failure. He pointed out that water levels at the Ranjit Sagar Dam had crossed 523 meters on August 22–23, yet no preventive steps were taken. On August 24, when inflows peaked at an alarming 2.36 lakh cusecs, the government released a meagre 500 cusecs, allowing water to accumulate dangerously. By August 25, delays in controlled release caused breaches that inundated vast areas of Punjab, leaving farmers and rural communities devastated.
The MLA accused the Mann government of ignoring repeated warnings and said that had timely decisions been made, thousands of families would not have lost their homes, crops, and livelihoods. “This is not nature’s fury—it is the result of the callous attitude and criminal negligence of the AAP government, ” Khaira asserted.
He further slammed the government for its lack of preparedness and sluggish relief operations, saying that disaster management teams were deployed too late and that affected villages have been left without adequate food, shelter, or medical aid. Farmers’ losses, he stressed, are “irreparable” as standing paddy, maize, and other seasonal crops lie submerged across thousands of acres.
Khaira demanded an independent judicial inquiry into what he called the “colossal failure of governance” and urged immediate and fair compensation for all affected families. He also called upon the Union Government to intervene and ensure accountability, stating that the people of Punjab cannot be made to suffer due to “the arrogance and incompetence of one government.”
Reiterating his solidarity with flood-hit families, Khaira pledged to stand by them in their time of crisis and vowed to raise the issue at every forum until justice is delivered. “The floods may recede, ” he said, “but the questions of accountability and responsibility will not disappear until those guilty of this man-made disaster are held answerable.”