Sushma Swaraj calls on PM; discusses flood situation in Uttarakhand

Leader of opposition in Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj today called on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and urged him to take prompt action to tackle the flood situation in Uttarakhand where major rivers and dams are in spate following incessant rains.

Swaraj discussed the matter with Singh and demanded that the Centre take immediate steps to help the state government in dealing with the emergency.

The prime minister assured Swaraj that he had asked cabinet secretary KM Chandrasekhar to look into the matter, sources said.

Earlier, Uttarakhand chief minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank had asked Swaraj and BJP parliamentary party chief LK Advani to take up the matter with the Union government as the situation in the state was grave and there was danger of parts of the state getting submerged.

Advani then discussed the issue over phone with home minister P Chidambaram and demanded that the National Disaster Management Authority be given the responsibility of dealing with this crisis.

"He demanded that the National Disaster Management Authority should be alerted and all necessary steps be taken," a source close to Advani said.