Chandigarh, Jul 14 (IANS): The Congress' Haryana unit on Friday demanded compensation at the rate of Rs 40,000 per acre for farmers and adequate financial relief for the damage caused to houses, shops, and businesses in the floods.

A delegation of party MLAs and senior leaders led by former Chief Minister Bhupinder Hooda and state party chief Chaudhary Udaibhan made these demands at a memorandum given to Governor Bandaru Dattatreya here.

Later talking to the media, Hooda said he had visited many flood-affected districts and the BJP-JJP government’s apathy and negligence came to the fore in the hour of crisis.

In the memorandum, the party demanded an immediate survey of the loss of crops.

It also sought steps to rehabilitate those who have been displaced or their houses have been damaged.

Food items and fodder for the cattle should also be distributed to the needy people.

The Congress noted that there is also a fear of spreading diseases due to flood water. Also immediate and long-term measures should be taken to prevent the recurrence of such disaster in the future.

“Sarpanches of many villages told me that villagers had been asking the government to get drains cleaned, but for the past almost two years, the government is ignoring this demand. Similarly, sewerage systems are not cleaned in cities. The people of the entire area are suffering because of this,” Hooda said.

According to him, with Dadupur Nalvi Canal no longer there, a large part of north Haryana has come in the grip of floods.

“The BJP government, however, de-notified the Dadupur Nalvi Canal as it came to power. By doing this, the government did injustice by snatching the scheme which proved to be the lifeline for the area during the disaster,” Hooda added.