UNITED SIKHS Gives Cash Aid to Panjab Flood Hit Farmers

“We visited 16 of the 27 villages in the Lehran subdivision where farms were destroyed and sadly we were not able to help every needy family. Most of the families were not yet in receipt of the Rs 5,000 promised by the state government because of administrative delay,”said Mejindarpal Kaur, UNITED SIKHS director

Lehran, Sangrur, Panjab, India August 17: Fifty village families of District Sangrur, who had lost their crops when the swollen River Ghaggar swept over their fields last month, received cash relief from UNITED SIKHS this week, whilst they await compensation promised by the government.

UNITED SIKHS gave Rs 5,000 to each of 50 rural families in 16 villages that had suffered extreme losses. A total of Rs 2.5 lakh was distributed in one day. You may view photos of families receiving cash aid here.

UNITED SIKHS director, Mejindarpal Kaur, who personally distributed the relief in 16 villages along the Ghaggar said, “We visited 16 of the 27 villages in the Lehran subdivision where farms were destroyed and sadly we were not able to help every needy family. Most of the families were not yet in receipt of the Rs 5,000 promised by the state government because of administrative delay.” The details of families who received cash support can be found here.

Our team, which comprised members of a local relief organization run by the Baba Nanak Charitable trust, the Rescue and Revival Mission, led by their chairman, Inderjit Singh Jaijee, started from Village Khanauri and wound up at Handa, where the Ghaggar leaves District Sangrur. The recipient families were identified with the help of village elders.

Amongst the aid recipients were widows of suicide victims who were affected by the recent floods-affected villages. All the women were the sole support of their families. We have also identified 50 widows of ‘suicide-farmers’ in the same region, and we seek donations to provide them monthly cash assistance from next month so that their children do not drop out of school due to hardship. This will be done under our Rescue a Family project which can be read about at www.unitedsikhs.org/makepovertyhistory
To donate for the Rescue A Family project, please set up a monthly donation of £20 /$30 a month at www.unitedsikhs.org/donate or send a cheque to a UNITED SIKHS office nearest to you whose details can be found at www.unitedsikhs.org/contact.php

You may read a previous press release on the Panjab floods at https://www.unitedsikhs.org/PressReleases/PRSRLS-31-07-2010-00.html