Chandigarh:- Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday visited the flood-affected areas of Amritsar and interacted with the people affected by the natural disaster. He was accompanied by Punjab Congress President Amarinder Singh Raja Warring, Leader of Opposition in the Punjab Vidhan Sabha Partap Singh Bajwa, MP from Amritsar Gurjit Singh Aujla and other party leaders.
After reaching Amritsar, he went to Ghonewal village in Ajnala of Amritsar and learnt about the damage from the flood-affected people. Ghonewal village was among the many areas of Ajnala that was badly affected by the flood waters. Gandhi sat down with some of the flood-affected people and interacted with them. After the visit to Ghonewal village, Rahul Gandhi is scheduled to pay obeisance at the historic Gurdwara Baba Buddha Sahib in Ramdas area of ??Amritsar. The former Congress president is also scheduled to visit the flood-affected areas of Gurdaspur district.
Earlier this morning, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi arrived at the Amritsar airport here. He was welcomed by party leaders Punjab Congress President Amarinder Singh Raja Warring, MP Gurjit Singh Aujla, Leader of Opposition in Punjab Vidhan Sabha Partap Singh Bajwa and other Congress leaders at the Sri Guru Ramdas Ji International Airport in Amritsar.
Rahul Gandhi met all these leaders and has left for Ramdas again. After Ramdas, Rahul Gandhi will also meet the affected people at Dera Baba Nanak in Gurdaspur district.
Punjab has recently faced one of its worst flood disasters in decades. The floods have caused considerable damage in Punjab. According to official reports, more than 1.98 lakh hectares of cropland has been affected.
The worst affected districts include Gurdaspur (40,169 hectares), Patiala (17,690 hectares), Tarn Taran (12,828 hectares), Fazilka (25,182 hectares), Ferozepur (17,257 hectares) and Kapurthala (17,574 hectares). The death toll due to the floods has reached 56. Earlier, Punjab Congress chief Amarinder Singh Raja Warring had called the floods a 'man-made disaster' and accused both the state and central governments of negligence.