Nation is with you, President assures people of Leh

JAMMU - President Pratibha Patil Wednesday told the people of Leh that the entire country was with them and no effort would be spared in providing them relief and rehabilitation after flash floods killed at least 183 people last month.

Patil said she was in Leh to assure the people that the country was behind them in their hour of grief as has been proved by the visit of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh earlier and now by her own visit.

She distributed some gifts among the people and interacted with them at the auditorium during her four-hour stay in the devastated town. She left for New Delhi around 1.30 p.m.

The president was received at the Leh airport by Jammu and Kashmir Governor N.N. Vohra and Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and some of his senior cabinet colleagues besides senior officials of the Indian Army and Air Force and the civil administration.

Union New and Renewable Energy Resources Minister Farooq Abdullah, who is also a former chief minister of Jammu and kashmir, is accompanying Patil during her visit to Leh.

Hundreds of locals lined up along the road from the airport to the main town to greet the president.

Patil later visited the army headquarters in the town.

Flash floods triggered by a cloud burst devastated large parts of Ladakh’s biggest town Leh Aug 6. At least 183 people, including 35 armymen, were killed and about 200 people are still missing.