PM likely to visit flood-affected Gujarat

New Delhi, Aug 21: Giving strong hints that he might visit Gujarat, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today assured a delegation and its MPs that the Centre would provide all possible assistance to the flood-ravaged state.

Dr Singh, who could earlier make only an aerial survey of Gujarat because of bad weather, said he would like to visit the state again to meet its people badly affected by the calamitous floods and torrential rains.

The delegation urged the Prime Minister to provide additional interim financial assistance of Rs 2,000 crore to Gujarat and treat the disaster similar to the killer earthquake that had rocked the state on January 26, 2001.

A memorandum, signed by MPs Kanshiram Rana, Ratilal verma, P S Gadhavi, Haribhai Patel, Jayaben Thakker, Harin Pathak, Somabhai Patel and Mahesh Kanodia, was also presented to Dr Singh.

The memorandum pointed out that 10 lakh small and medium units, engaged in manufacturing activities in Surat like spining, weaving, printing, dyeing, diamond polishing and food processing, had been badly affected by the current spell of floods.

The MPs appealed to Dr Singh to immediately release Rs 20,000 crore as Central assistance for rescue and restoration efforts of the state government for Surat City and other affected districts.

They also quoted initial reports to point out that industrial units located in Hazira on the outskirts of the city had suffered losses to the tune of Rs 5000 crore. Further, 45 lakh people (nearly 90 per cent population of the city) had been undergoing severe hardship since flooding of the city.

In their memorandum, the MPs also pointed out that the Rs 10,000-crore diamond business in Surat, which earns a foreign exchange worth Rs 45,000 crore every year, had been facing severe crisis because of unprecedented floods.

Besides Surat, districts like Navsari, Kheda, Ahmedabad, Panchmahal, Narmada, Bharuch, Vadodara and Dahod had also suffered an extensive damage, they said.

On Sunday, Dr. Singh had deputed Textiles Minister Shankarsinh Vaghela to make an on-the-spot assessment of damages caused by floods in Surat, the hub of textile factories and diamond business.

''On his return from Surat, the minister will submit a report to the Prime Minister, which will form the basis for Dr Singh's visit to the flood-affected areas in Gujarat,'' sources close to Mr Vaghela told UNI.

UNI

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