Rahul Gandhi visits flood affected areas in Assam

Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi on Thursday visited Assam's Lakhimpur district which is the worst affected in the flood-ravaged state.

He crossed Ranganadi river in a small boat to reach this remote area and visited Amtola. The overflowing river had broken an embankment and caused large-scale destruction of human habitation and farmlands here.

"There are floods in Assam and I thought I must come to meet you and hear about your pain and understand the situation," Gandhi told people here after listening to their problems.

"I will fight for compensation, that is your right," he said.

He said that Congress workers have been asked to help rebuild houses damaged by flood waters besides providing relief to the affected families.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced on Tuesday a total package of Rs 2,350 crore for all north eastern states for mitigating the impact of floods on short and long term basis.

An immediate release of Rs 250 crore was announced for for Assam.

Gandhi is scheduled to visit Silchar today to pay tributes to the Congress leader and former Union minister Santosh Mohan Dev who died on Wednesday.

Gujarat floods: Banaskantha, Patan declared 'disaster-affected'

A week after torrential rains leading to flood wreaked havoc in north Gujarat, state revenue department has declared Banaskantha and Patan districts as 'disaster-affected areas'.

The announcement was made by the department through a Gazette notification issued on Tuesday, which was made available on Thursday.

These districts were declared as flood-affected areas as per the provisions of 'Gujarat State Disaster Management Act of 2003', said the notification.

The decision to declare these two districts, which were hit the most by the flood, as 'disaster affected', was based on the recommendation of respective collectors of these districts, it said.

As per the notification, all the tehsils of both these districts were affected by heavy rain and flood.

These districts will remain in the category of 'disaster-affected areas' till August 15, it said.

As many as 218 people were killed in various rain-related incidents across the state this monsoon season.

Among these, 61 deaths were reported in Banaskantha alone, while seven had died in neighbouring Patan district, according to the State Emergency Operation Centre.

Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani has been camping in the flood-affected areas since last five days to monitor the relief operations.

During this period, Rupani has visited many villages and towns of both the districts, said a release on Wednesday.