A day before Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's scheduled visit to Leh, Union Minister of State for Defence Pallam Raju, Chief of Army Staff V.K. Singh and Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi visited the flood-ravaged town on Monday to take stock of the situation.
Mr. Raju and Mr. Gandhi were briefed about the situation by Commander of Leh-based 14 Corps, Lieutenant General S.K. Singh.
They were told about the Army's efforts to provide succour to the locals, its relief and rescue operations, the restoration of connectivity with the rest of the country and the ongoing rescue operations to locate missing Army personnel at Tyakshi, a defence spokesperson said.
Mr. Raju also visited the Military Hospital where he interacted with the patients, both civilian and Army personnel who sustained injuries during the cloudburst.
Mr. Raju and Mr. Gandhi visited the Choglamsar relief camp and interacted with the locals who lost their homes in the devastation.
Choglamsar, a village near Leh, was the worst-hit during flash floods.
The Minister later carried out aerial reconnaissance of flood-affected areas. Both leaders expressed solidarity with the flood-affected population and assured them all help in rehabilitation.
The Army Chief assured the civilians that the Army would provide all possible assistance in their rehabilitation. He also carried out aerial survey of the calamity-affected areas.
General Singh later visited Srinagar and called on Governor N.N. Vohra and Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, and discussed the overall situation in the State. The Army Chief is scheduled to visit the forward areas along the Line of Control on Tuesday.
During his visit, the Prime Minister will be accompanied by Union Ministers Ghulam Nabi Azad and Farooq Abdullah, Mr. Omar Abdullah and local MP Hassan Khan, official sources said.
