Congress leader Rahul Gandhi visits flood-affected victims at relief camp in Fulertal

Lakhipur (Assam) [India], July 8 (ANI): Congress leader and Lok Sabha MP Rahul Gandhi arrived in Assam on Monday to meet the flood-affected victims at a relief camp in Fulertal, Lakhipur.

The Congress leader arrived at Kumbhigram airport in Silchar district, in the morning and visited a flood relief camp in Lakhipur to interact with the displaced residents.

Rahul Gandhi received a heartfelt reception at Silchar Airport from leaders of Assam and Manipur.

After his visit to the relief camp at Fulertal in Assam, Rahul Gandhi proceeded to Manipur to visit relief camps at three different locations. The leader of the Opposition will also call upon the Manipur Governor this evening.

As per the current flood situation in Assam, 58 people have died and 53,429 are seeking refuge in shelter camps across the state. As many as 23.9 lakh people have been affected across 3,535 villages so far. 68,769 hectares of total crop area have been submerged.

114 animals, including 6 rhinos, have died in Kaziranga National Park, as per the report.

Meanwhile, the Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) submitted a letter on the current flood situation in the state to Rahul Gandhi at Silchar airport on Monday.

As per the official APCC letter, “The key to Assam’s flood problems lay in the hills. Due to large-scale deforestation in the hills, there is immense siltation in Assam’s rivers. The resultant rising of the riverbed has progressively reduced the carrying capacity of Assam’s rivers.”

“Therefore, in the monsoon season and with climate change, we are seeing extreme rainfalls–the water discharge is beyond the carrying capacity of rivers. The long-term solution therefore is a pan-Northeast water management authority, suitably empowered by Parliament to do everything necessary to control floods,” it said.

“The short-term solution is strengthening the current flood management infrastructure like embankments, and providing immediate relief and rehabilitation to those affected,” stated the letter.

Meanwhile, APCC leaders, MPs, MLAs, Frontal Heads, DCCs and BCCs are touring the flood-affected areas.

The letter further requested Rahul Gandhi on behalf of the people of Assam to take up the matter of the flood situation and a special case and help the state receive adequate relief and compensation for the severe losses incurred due to the floods from the GOI.

“We would be grateful to you for carrying our voice of agony to the Centre. Assam should get a package to tackle the grim situation, as the state government has failed to get adequate funds from the Central government, a double failure of the double-engine government,” it said.