Centre stands shoulder to shoulder with affected people, says PM Modi as he starts visit to flood-hit Himachal, Punjab

Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Pic/PTI

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said his government stands shoulder to shoulder with the affected people as he begins his visit to Himachal Pradesh and Punjab to take stock of the flood situation.

PM Modi will be on a day-long visit to Himachal Pradesh and Punjab to take stock of the flood situation, said officials, reported news agency PTI.

After visiting Himachal Pradesh, PM Modi will conduct an aerial survey of the flood-affected areas in Punjab. He will visit Gurdaspur and hold discussions with senior officials and chair a review meeting on the ground situation, said officials.

He will also interact with flood-affected persons as well as NDRF, SDRF and Aapda Mitra Team in Gurdaspur.

While leaving from Delhi for Himachal Pradesh and Punjab to review the situation in the wake of floods and landslides, PM Modi wrote on X, "The Government of India stands shoulder to shoulder with those affected in this tragic hour."

PM Modi was deeply concerned about the flood situation in Punjab and was closely monitoring it, Punjab BJP chief Sunil Jakhar said on Sunday, reported PTI.

Tight security arrangements have been made in Gurdaspur in the wake of the prime minister's visit.

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

Besides, heavy rains in recent days in Punjab also aggravated the flooding situation.

The death toll due to the devastating floods in Punjab stands at 51 while crops on 1.84 lakh hectares have been damaged.

The heavy monsoon rains over the past week have caused rivers to swell and inundated several districts across the state, leaving thousands affected and prompting large-scale relief operations.

Ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the state, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) president Aman Arora earlier today expressed hope that the Centre would announce a relief package for the flood-hit state.

"Punjab has been reeling under floods for the past 20-25 days. Tomorrow, PM Modi is coming to Punjab. We welcome him and are hopeful that tomorrow, he will give a relief package to Punjab. The preliminary estimation of damage due to floods amounts to Rs 20,000 crores," Arora told ANI.

(With inputs from PTI and ANI)