Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Friday visited Rajasthan where she met rain and hailstorm affected farmers and assured them that she would take up their plight with the state and central governments.Gandhi, who was on a day-long tour, arrived by a chartered plane in Jhalawar from where she boarded a helicopter for Kota district."Soon after arriving in Kota, she went to Darbiji and Morpa villages where a large number of farmers met her and showed her the losses they suffered because of untimely rain and hailstorms," a Congress leader said.
Villagers told her that their crop has been destroyed and there would be a problem of food and fodder in the coming days."I am pained after looking at the destruction and the Congress would raise the plight of farmers and certainly request the state and central governments to provide relief to you," Gandhi told the farmers.Former chief minister Ashok Gehlot, Congress state unit president Sachin Pilot, All India Congress Committee general secretary Gurudas Kamat and Leader of Opposition in the state assembly Rameshwar Dudi accompanied her.Kota and nearby districts have been worst affected by rain and hailstorms that hit the desert state last week. State government officials said 25 people have died and 50 percent or more crops in over 3,000 villages have been damaged.