Sanjeev Pargal
JAMMU, Sept 27: All India Congress (I) Committee president Sonia Gandhi and vice president Rahul Gandhi are visiting Jammu and Kashmir on a two days visit to meet the flood victims and assess damages caused to public property and infrastructure in worst ever floods in the State, which has taken the toll of nearly 300 lives.
Sonia and Rahul will be visiting the State on September 29 and 30. Prior to them, senior Congress leaders including AICC (I) general secretary, Incharge Jammu and Kashmir, Ambika Soni, Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad and PCC (I) chief Prof Saif-ud-Din Soz had visited several flood affected areas of Jammu and Kashmir.
Reports said Sonia and Rahul will reach Srinagar on September 29 morning and visit flood hit localities, relief and rehabilitation camps and assess damage caused to houses, commercial establishments and Government infrastructure in the floods. They will inter-act with the people, who were putting up in the relief and rehabilitation camps set up for the people, who have lost their houses in the floods.
They will have a round of some of the localities of Srinagar, which have been worst hit by the floods.
In the afternoon, the Congress leaders will fly to Srinagar and had tour of flood affected areas. They will inter-act with the people, who have suffered heavy losses in the floods and listen to their grievances.
They will return to Srinagar, the summer capital of the State in the evening, and have night stay there. Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and Deputy Chief Minister Tara Chand will brief the Congress leaders about extent of damage caused by the flood and steps taken by the Government for relief and rehabilitation of the people and launch cleanliness operations in flood hit localities to prevent spread of epidemic.
On September 30, the Gandhis will reach Jammu and fly to Poonch, where they were scheduled to visit several areas of Poonch and Surankote to meet the flood victims and ascertain their problems apart from assessing the damage caused by heavy floods and rains.
Sources said senior Congress leaders including Ambika Soni, Azad and Soz apart from Deputy Chief Minister Tara Chand would accompany Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi during their tour of Poonch.
At Poonch and Surankote, the Congress leaders will visit relief and rehabilitation and health camps to see the arrangements made by the administration for flood affected people. They will also meet senior local party leaders and call upon them to step up relief and rehabilitation measures for the flood victims.
They will return to Jammu in the afternoon and have a meeting with senior party leaders including Ministers, legislators and office bearers to review arrangements for the flood victims. They will return to New Delhi in the afternoon of September 30, reports said.
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