Tags:
Journalism of Courage
Congress chief Sonia Gandhi and Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee, after making an aerial survey of flood-hit Gujarat, today took a bumpy ride in an Army truck through Surat, the worst-hit area.
They boarded a rugged Army truck to take stock of the devastation caused by the release of waters from the swollen Ukai dam, as officials felt it would be impossible for ordinary cars or even Sports Utility Vehicles (SUVs) to negotiate the waterlogged roads.
They sat on a bench behind the cabin during the 90-minute ride, as the truck took them from the airport to Surat city, a stretch of 13 km, and around several areas in the city, where thousands of people have been marooned for the past three days.
The milling crowds during Gandhi’s earlier visits to Gujarat were conspicuous by their absence, and only a few people could be seen in the areas traversed by the truck.
The security paraphernalia and long convoys too were missing and unsuspecting people realised that Sonia Gandhi was touring the area only after the truck trundled past potholed roads.
‘‘People do not expect Sonia Gandhi to travel in a truck,’’ a Congress leader said, seeking to explain the absence of crowds as he made frantic efforts to collect a gathering of party followers.
