Chandigarh, Sept. 6 -- Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema on Saturday termed the ongoing floods in the state as being the worst in five decades, saying that while the state has responded with urgency and compassion while the Centre has failed to extend the needed support.

Addressing a press conference at Punjab Bhawan, he said that incessant rains in Punjab and neighbouring hill states have triggered large-scale devastation, affecting nearly 2,000 villages and over four lakh citizens, while 46 lives have been lost across the state.

Agriculture, the backbone of the state's economy, has suffered extensive damage with 1.72 lakh hectares of farmland impacted across 18 districts. Homes, livestock and public infrastructure have also ...