E-Paper
Rahul makes a quiet visit to flood-ravaged hilly regions
Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi on Monday quietly visited flood-ravaged Uttarakhand, keeping even the chief minister’s office out of the loop.
Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi on Monday quietly visited flood-ravaged Uttarakhand, keeping even the chief minister’s office out of the loop. Gandhi reached Dehradun by a chartered flight, left for Rishikesh at around 1pm and then visited Pauri Garhwal, 150 km from Dehradun.
Pauri district magistrate Chandres Yadav said Gandhi spent some time at the circuit house and then proceeded towards Rudraprayag.
“Gandhi spent half an hour here and met officials,” Yadav told Hindustan Times on the phone, but did not give any further detail.
Officials said Gandhi was accompanied just by his staff.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi did an aerial tour of the state last week.
In New Delhi, Sonia Gandhi flagged off 24 truckloads of relief material for the Uttarakhand flood victims in the presence of Rahul Gandhi before he left for Uttarakhand, and Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit.
The party has directed all its state units to collect material for the state. Earlier, 125 trucks were sent to Dehradun by the Congress, which is in power in Uttarakhand.
The Congress has set up a control room in Dehradun to coordinate relief work and deployed some functionaries there.
(With inputs from New Delhi)
