Chandigarh, Sep 20 : Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) President Sukhbir Badal on Saturday flagged off 100 trucks of maize silage for distribution in Gurdaspur and Jalandhar districts to serve as fodder for livestock.

He said the party would distribute wheat to 50,000 poor flood-affected families for the next one month. Addressing the media after flagging off trucks at the grain market here, the SAD president said party observers, who had visited flood-hit areas, reported severe shortage of fodder for livestock, and accordingly, the party had decided to procure maize silage for distribution.

He said simultaneously, poor people had reported that they were short of rations due to loss of livelihood for one month. 'Accordingly, we have decided to provide wheat to 50,000 families.' Badal also announced that the party and the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) would each distribute certified seed for 1 lakh acres of land.

'With the SAD and the SGPC taking on the responsibility of distributing certified seed for 2 lakh acres of land, I appeal to the Punjab government to distribute seed in the remaining two lakh acres of land affected by the floods to cover the entire affected area.' He said the state government should also take on the responsibility of distributing DAP free of cost to all farmers across the affected 4 lakh acres of land, besides contributing to clearing the land of sand by deputing tractors for this purpose.

Badal said the Akali Dal on its part would also initiate the 'tractor sewa' soon, during the course of which it would provide diesel free of cost for clearing sand from flooded agricultural land. Saying that the party had established a monitoring committee for regulating the entire flood relief operation, Badal said, 'We are committed to assisting the farmers and the 'khet mazdoor' (farm labourers) stand back on their feet. Akali volunteers will work side by side with them to bring their fields back to normal'.

He also appealed to other political parties and countrymen to help the flood-stricken farmers of Punjab. 'The Khalsa Panth and Punjabis have reached out to help countrymen afflicted by natural calamities across the country. Now is the time to help Punjabis in their hour of crisis,' he added.

/IANS