Sonia meets farmers affected by unseasonal rain in Rae Bareli

Rae Bareli, March 28

Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Saturday met the farmers who have suffered losses due untimely rains in her Rae Bareli constituency and visited the families of the victims of the recent Bachrawan train accident and assured them of all possible assistance.

(See video: Sonia Gandhi meets farmers affected by rains in Rae Bareli)

The Congress president, who represents Rae Bareli in the Lok Sabha, drove straight to Pachwar village after landing at the Fursatganj airport this morning to take stock of the losses suffered by the farmers because of the recent untimely rains and hailstorm.

The farmers apprised Gandhi of their plight and claimed that no administrative official has visited the village for conducting a survey so that compensation could be given to them. Gandhi gave a patient hearing to the farmers.

She also visited Bandipur and Shivpuri villages where the farmers showed her damages to wheat and mustard crops in the fields to stress the magnitude of their losses.

The farmers also drew her attention to the poor state of tube-wells in the area because of which they were facing immense hardship and alleged that the administration was neither cooperating nor listening to their grievances.

Gandhi assured the farmers that she would take up the issue with officials concerned and exert pressure on the government so as to help them get proper compensation.

Later, she went to Sarvoday Nagar locality and met kin of Shivendra Singh who was killed in the railway accident. She also visited Utarpara village where three members of a family including noted 'Kathak' exponent Shitla Prasad Misra were killed in the train accident.

She enquired whether the families have received any help from the central government and was told that though the central help had reached them, the assistance announced by the state government was yet to come.

Gandhi also met 14-year-old Dhananjay, who has been rendered handicapped in the accident and promised medical help. Dhananjay belongs to the family of Shitla Prasad Misra. — PTI