Rahul Gandhi visits flood-hit Amritsar, interacts with victims of Punjab deluge
In Amritsar's Ajnala region, Rahul Gandhi visited Ghonewal village, one of the worst-hit areas—where he interacted with flood victims, listening to their accounts of loss and hardship.
New Delhi: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday (September 15) toured flood-hit areas of Amritsar, where he met residents grappling with widespread devastation. He was joined by Punjab Congress chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring, Leader of Opposition in the state assembly Partap Singh Bajwa, Amritsar MP Gurjeet Singh Aujla and other party leaders.
After reaching Amritsar, Gandhi proceeded to Ghonewal village in the Ajnala region, one of the worst-affected localities, to hear first-hand accounts from flood survivors. Sitting among the villagers, he enquired about their losses and the challenges they are facing. After his visit to Ghonewal, the former Congress president is expected to offer prayers at the historic Baba Budha Sahib gurdwara in Ramdas and later travel to Gurdaspur to assess the situation in other inundated areas.
Floods wreak havoc in Punjab
Punjab is reeling from one of its most severe flood disasters in decades, triggered by the swelling of the Sutlej, Beas, and Ravi rivers as well as overflowing rivulets fed by heavy rains in Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir. Torrential rainfall within Punjab further aggravated the situation. So far, 56 people have lost their lives, while crops spread across nearly 1.98 lakh hectares have been damaged.
On September 9, Prime Minister Narendra Modi conducted an aerial survey of affected districts and announced Rs 1,600 crore in relief assistance, in addition to the Rs 12,000 crore already allocated to the state. Several Union ministers, including Shivraj Singh Chouhan, L Murugan and BL Verma, also visited the flood-hit areas earlier to review the damage.