Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Saturday inspected the flood-hit areas in Rajasthan's Kota district and took stock of the situation caused due to incessant rain. In certain affected areas he sat in an inflated boat to row through the flooded streets.
A day after the proceedings of the lower house in the ongoing Monsoon Session of the Parliament was adjourned till Monday, Birla arrived at his parliamentary constituency Kota-Bundi in the early hours today.
He first conducted an aerial survey of Sangod and Khanpur for about 20 minutes in a helicopter. Thereafter, he arrived at Gandhi Chowk and used an inflatable boat to paddle through the areas that were filled with over waist-deep water.
"The floods have caused heavy losses. The situation is dire. In Hadoti, the flood has damaged crops," said Birla.
The Lok Sabha Speaker also spoke to some locals in the area about the situation who were trapped in their houses.
Stationery trader Govind Singh, said he had thrown out goods including books and notebooks in the shop which was inundated with water stating that everything in sight was ruined. A trader of fertilizers told Birla that the sacks of urea kept in the shop got mixed in the water.
Lok Sabha Speaker also made arrangements for the food supply for people affected by the flooding. He also directed former MLA Hiralal Nagar to make necessary arrangements. He further assured people compensation for their loss.
Birla also spoke to officials of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and reviewed the rescue operations.
Taking to Twitter, Om Birla said, "I took stock of the situation by visiting the excessive rain-affected Sangod area of Kota. Also took information about the loss to people. The district administration was asked to expedite the rescue work, make arrangements for the earliest drainage of floodwater and speed up the relief work."
Over the past eight days, Kota-Bundi has witnessed a continuous downpour, increasing the water level of rivers and dams.
( With inputs from ANI )
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