President assures nation’s support to flood-hit Leh (Second Lead)

JAMMU - President Pratibha Patil Wednesday assured the people of Jammu and Kashmir’s flood-ravaged Leh that the entire country was with them and no effort would be spared in providing them rehabilitation. She also appreciated the Indian Army for the rescue and relief operations.

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 Aug 17 and now by her own visit.

She distributed some gifts among the people and interacted with them during the visit to the main town in the predominantly Buddhist Ladakh region.

After meeting the victims of the floods that hit Leh Aug 6, the president addressed soldiers of the 14 corps of the Indian Army. She lauded their role in helping the people at the time of the natural disaster.

She said the army played a crucial role in saving lives and “reconnecting the Leh-Manali and Leh-Srinagar highways”.

Her address at Rinchen auditorium in Leh was full of praise for the army. Indian Army chief Gen V.K. Singh and Northern Command chief Lt Gen B.S. Jaswal were present on the occasion.

Leh district of Ladakh has borders with both Pakistan and China and also has the Siachen glacier, the highest battlefield of the world. It has substantial presence of the army and the Indian troops were the first to launch rescue and relief operations.

Patil also visited the worst-hit areas like Choglamsar, where she met with the people in relief camps. She assured them that the “whole nation was with them in this hour of crisis”, an official said.

“Both the central and the state governments will help you rebuild your lives,” she assured the grieving people.

A spokesman of the army’s Northern Command said in a statement that the president also appreciated the “bravery of soldiers in guarding the frontiers in the most inhospitable conditions”.

The prime minister had earlier announced a relief grant of Rs.125 crore.

Chief Minister Omar Abdullah also briefed the president on the way his government was engaged in reconstructing the houses for the people.

The president was received at the Leh airport by Jammu and Kashmir Governor N.N. Vohra and 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, accompanied Patil during her visit.

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

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.