The Gujarat government is going slow on flood relief despite the central government announcing Rs 500 crore in aid, said Congress president Sonia Gandhi, who is touring the flood-hit districts.Accompanied by Union Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee, state Congress president Arjun Modhvadia, and political adviser Ahmed Patel, Gandhi today had an aerial survey of the flood-hit regions.Her original plan was only for an aerial survey, but on landing at Vadodara airport she decided to visit the flood-affected areas of the city.The state government wasn’t disbursing doles to flood victims for meeting their day-to-day expenses, she said after visiting people from Jalaram Nagar on VIP Road and Kalyan Nagar in Fatehgunj.In Jalaram Nagar, flood victims from other areas turned up to complain to Gandhi. The route she took was lined with people. Policemen had a tough time keeping them at bay.Many of those in relief camps complained to her that the food was bad, they didn’t get enough drinking water, and power supply was erratic.Gandhi then drove back to the airport, where she met district officials and officers of the army and air force.Air Commodore Hari Naidu, who is supervising the IAF’s relief operations, told Gandhi that IAF choppers had made 55 sorties, dropping rations to marooned villagers in Vadodara and neighbouring districts and the passengers of the Shanti Express, which was stranded in Dakor.Brig Rakesh Nandan, commander of the army’s Air Defence Brigade, briefed Gandhi on rescue and relief work carried out by the army in central and south Gujarat.
