Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi on Thursday assured people of flood-ravaged Assam that he would raise their plight in the Parliament and ensure they get adequate compensation.
The Congress leader gave the assurance while interacting with flood-hit residents at Lakhimpur, the worst affected district in the recent floods which wreaked havoc in 29 of the state’s 32 districts.
Gandhi visited the state two days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi took stock of the situation.
Modi during his visit to Assam on Tuesday announced a Rs 2,000-crore relief package for all the flood-hit northeastern states and held review meetings with representatives of the affected states. The exact share of each of the affected states from the package was not yet worked out.
Apart from Assam, floods also affected Manipur, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh in the region.
“I thought of meeting you all to understand the extent of damage and help. I will raise the issue of floods in Parliament,” the 47-year-old Congress MP told residents at Amtola—one of the worst affected villages.
Unlike Modi who didn’t visit the flood affected areas, Gandhi took a small boat to cross the Ranganadi river and met affected people. “It is your right to get adequate compensation. We will fight for that,” he said.
Damage to an embankment on the Ranganadi river after excess water was released from a hydro-power project in Arunachal Pradesh had caused widespread destruction and damage in Lakhimpur.
{{/usCountry}}Damage to an embankment on the Ranganadi river after excess water was released from a hydro-power project in Arunachal Pradesh had caused widespread destruction and damage in Lakhimpur.
{{/usCountry}}With 84 deaths till Wednesday, Assam is the worst-affected of all the northeastern states. Flooding had hit over 2 million people in the state, displaced over 1.3 lakh and damaged over 2 lakh hectares of crop area.
After visiting flood-affected areas, Gandhi flew to Silchar in south Assam to take part in the funeral of former Congress stalwart and union minister Santosh Mohan Dev who died on Wednesday.
Dev’s daughter Sushmita is a Congress MP from Silchar.