By IANS,
New Delhi : Expressing pain at the loss of life and property due to flash floods in Leh, Congress president Sonia Gandhi said Thursday the government will take all steps necessary to address the needs of the people there, especially shelter, as the winter was not too far.
In her address to the Congress Parliamentary Party meeting here, Gandhi said the whole country stands with the people of Leh in their hour of grief.
“Our hearts go out to the people of Leh and its surrounding areas who have experienced a terrible tragedy. We are deeply pained by the loss of life and property on account of this unprecedented natural disaster. Our heartfelt condolences go out to all those who have suffered the loss of their dear ones. The whole country stands with them in their hour of grief,” she said.
Gandhi said various agencies of the government, NGOs and ordinary people were committed to mitigate the impact of the calamity.
The Congress Seva Dal had also been active in distributing relief material, she added.
“I am sure that our government will take all steps necessary to address the needs of the people there, especially of shelter with winter not being too far away,” she said.
The Aug 6 flash floods in Leh claimed 183 lives and extensively damaged property. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh visited the town Tuesday and announced that all houses destroyed in the flash flood will be rebuilt before onset of winter.
The Congress president also referred to deficient rainfall in some parts of the country and said the government had responded proactively by sending teams to assess the damage.
“The monsoon has been generally normal in many parts of the country. However, some districts in eastern Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal are affected by drought. Our government has responded proactively and teams are being sent to these districts to assess the damage and estimate the amount of assistance needed,” she said.