Karnal, Sept. 12 -- Former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda on Thursday demanded that the state government declare Haryana a flood-affected state and the union government should also announce a special package. Hooda was in Yamunanagar to assess the damage caused by recent heavy rains and waterlogging in various areas of the district. Hooda visited various flood affected areas including Bambholi, Bibipur, Lapra, Kamalpur of Yamunanagar by driving a tractor himself. He listened to the problems of the people, who told him that all the crops have been completely ruined. He said that 17 lakh acres of standing crops of farmers in Haryana have been destroyed due to floods and about 5,000 villages, 11 cities, 72 towns and hundreds of wards are affected by the floods. "The situation is worse than the disaster of 1995. Therefore, the BJP government should declare it a flood-affected state and the Central government should immediately announce a special package," he stated. At a press conference later, he said, "Farmers should get at least Rs.60-70,000 per acre as compensation. Thousands of houses, shops, establishments have been damaged." htc...