Dehradun: Congress president Sonia
Gandhi is on a tour of flood and cloudburst hit areas of
Uttarakhand Tuesday where 60 people have died and thousands
rendered homeless in the past few days.
Accompanied by Defence Minister AK Antony and senior
Congress leader Digvijay Singh, Gandhi arrived at Joly Grant
Airport near here and took a helicopter to fly to the affected
areas in Haridwar, Tehri and Kumaon.
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank
had yesterday made an aerial survey of parts of the state hit
by floods, landslides and cloudbursts and announced a relief
of Rs 1 lakh to the next of kin of those killed in the
natural calamity.
Nishank had visited areas like Tehri, Haridwar, Nainital
and Almora to asses the loss of lives and property.
At least 60 people have died and thousands others have
been rendered homeless due to incessant rains and floods
during the past few days in the hill state.
Nishank said a total of 412 families in 25 villages have
been affected in Tehri and Uttarkashi districts by the rising
waters of Tehri dam.
He said over 8000 people have been evacuated to safer
areas due to floods in the state. He also demanded a package
of Rs 5000 crore from the Centre to tackle the situation, an
official statement said.
PTI
