PM to visit flood-affected states

New Delhi, Aug 10 (UNI) Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will visit Gujarat, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh tomorrow to make personal assessment of the situation caused by floods.

He will visit Surat which was the worst hit in Gujarat, Nanded in Maharashtra and Hyderabad during the day-long visit.

Official sources said he would review the ongoing relief and rehabilitation efforts with state and central government officials.

He will visit some of the relief camps in the affected areas, besides undertaking an aerial survey.

In Hyderabad, he will hold discussions with Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy and his cabinet colleagues. A relief of Rs 200 crore had already been announced for Andhra Pradesh from the National Calamity Relief Fund yesterday.

Dr Singh's visit comes close on the heels of similar visits by Home Minister Shivraj Patil and Congress president Sonia Gandhi to Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat.

However, his visit to Maharashtra would be the first visit by a Central leader after heavy floods affected 23 districts of the state. So far, 118 people have died, 79 are missing and more than three lakh have been evacuated.

Meanwhile, Home Ministry sources said here today that one company of National Disaster Response Force had been sent to Surat, hit hardest by floods. As many as 10,000 food packets were supplied today.

The Union Health Ministry has been advised to provide medical assistance to Gujarat and Maharashtra to prevent the spread of water-borne diseases.

The Department of Telecom had been requested to restore mmediately the telecom network in Surat.

UNI SH AK BST1919