Mann Ki Baat: Extensive help being provided to flood-hit states: PM Narendra Modi

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi today said extensive relief is being provided to the flood-hit states and crop insurance companies have been asked to be pro-active in settlement of claims of the affected farmers.

He said the situation in flood-affected states including Assam, Gujarat, Rajasthan and West Bengal is being fully monitored and several agencies like the Army, the IAF, the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and paramilitary forces are engaged in rescue and relief operations

Wherever possible, union ministers are visiting the affected states, Modi said in his monthly radio programme ' Mann Ki Baat'.

"In this situation, everybody is going all out to help the affected people," he said.

To deal with the flood situation, a 24x7 control room is working with the helpline number 1078.

Noting that floods affect everything, he particularly talked about the farmers, saying they lose their crops in the deluge.

In this context, he said crop insurance companies have been asked to be proactive so that claim settlement can be done at the earliest.

The prime minister also said that the weather prediction by the Metereological Department nowadays is almost perfect and hence people should develop the habit of carrying out their tasks according to the predictions, so as to avoid losses.

The prime minister has already visited Gujarat and is expected to travel to Assam to take stock of the flood situation there on August 1.

In his broadcast, he also talked about the Women's World Cup which concluded recently and hailed the performance of the Indian team in it, saying "our daughters" are making the nation proud in various fields.

The prime minister, who hosted the team at his residence three days back, said the players were feeling bad that they could not win the final.

"I told them whether you won or lost the match, you won the hearts of 125 crore people of the country," he said.

He said he told them that in today's world, the media raises expectations to such an extent that when you don't get success, there is anger.

"We have seen incidents when the Indian players are not successful, then they face public anger. Some people even breach the line of decorum and write such bad things which cause pain.

"But it is for the first time that when our daughters could not be successful in the World Cup (cricket), the 125 crore people of the country carried that defeat on their shoulders. They did not let that burden to be on these daughters," the prime minister said.