Shimla, June 29
Mrs Sonia Gandhi, Congress President and Chairperson of the UPA, today flew to Rekong Peo to have a firsthand account of the destruction caused by the flash floods in the Sutlej in Kinnaur district.

She was accompanied by Mr Shivraj Patil, Union Home Minister, Mr Virbhadra Singh, Chief Minister, and senior officers of the Centre and the state.

She made an aerial survey of the flood- ravaged areas along the river from Rampur to Pooh before landing at Rekong Peo. She spent about an hour at the district headquarters during which she talked to affected people and tourists who were stranded due to the disruption of road links. The tourists wanted to be evacuated at the earliest.

Mr Amandeep Garg, Deputy Commissioner, Commandant of the ITBP and other officers briefed her about the damage caused by the floods and the kind of assistance they needed in carrying out relief and rescue operation.

Talking to mediapersons at the Annandale helipad after her return from Rekong Peo, she said the maximum damage had been caused to infrastructure, particularly bridges and roads. Farmers, especially apple growers, were concerned about the transportation of their produce to the market as the road links had been disrupted. The apple season was round the corner and immediate action was required to rebuild the damaged infrastructure.

She said the Centre had already sanctioned six bailey bridges but their was a demand for three more. She said the demand and other issues would be discussed by the Home Minister and the Chief Minister and solutions would be found to all problems.