Punjab floods: Rahul Gandhi interacts with affected people in Amritsar

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday visited the flood-hit areas of Amritsar and interacted with those affected by nature's fury.

He was accompanied by Punjab Congress chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring, leader of opposition in the Punjab Assembly Partap Singh Bajwa, Amritsar MP Gurjeet Singh Aujla and other party leaders.

After arriving in Amritsar, he headed to Ghonewal village in Amritsar's Ajnala and met the flood-hit people to enquire about the damage.

Ghonewal village was among several areas in Ajnala which was badly hit by floodwaters.

Gandhi sat among some flood-affected people and interacted with them.

After visiting Ghonewal village, Gandhi is scheduled to pay obeisance at the historic gurdwara Baba Budha Sahib in Ramdas area of Amritsar.

The former Congress president is also scheduled to visit flood-hit areas of Gurdaspur district.

Punjab faced one of its worst flood disasters in decades. The floods were a result of swollen Sutlej, Beas, and Ravi rivers along with seasonal rivulets caused by heavy rainfall in their catchment areas in Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir.

The floods have caused significant damage across the state. According to official reports, over 1.98 lakh hectares of crop land have been affected. The worst-hit districts include Gurdaspur (40,169 ha), Patiala (17,690 ha), Tarn Taran (12,828 ha), Fazilka (25,182 ha), Ferozepur (17,257 ha) and Kapurthala (17,574 ha). The death toll has reached 56.

Earlier, Punjab Congress Chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring called the floods a "man-made disaster", blaming both the state and central governments for negligence. "When Shivraj Chouhan came here, he only blamed others. The AAP government is doing nothing for the people," he said.