Rahul Gandhi urges Cong workers to help people in flood-hit states

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday expressed concern over the flood situation in some states and urged his party workers to help the affected people.

"The flood situation in Kerala, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Odisha, Assam and Bihar is grim, with lakhs of citizens stranded or displaced. I request Congress Party workers in the affected states to do all they can to help those in need and pray that the flood waters soon subside," he said in a tweet.

Nine people drowned on Thursday when a rescue boat capsized in flood-ravaged Sangli district of Western Maharashtra, while a 'red alert' was sounded in four districts of Kerala where heavy rains, gusty winds and widespread landslips wreaked havoc in several areas.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis conducted an aerial survey to review the flood situation in Sangli and Kolhapur, which are the worst hit following heavy rains in the area where the Krishna and Panchganga rivers are in spate.

In Kerala, water level is rising in most of the rivers and dams across the state with Kannur, Wayanad, Idukki, Malappuram, Kozhikode and Kasaragod districts facing a flood-like situation.