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Sonia visits quake victims in J&K
NDTV Correspondent, Saturday, December 10, 2005

(Jammu) : Congress president Sonia Gandhi visited Teethwal on the Line of Control on her second day in the earthquake-hit areas of Jammu and Kashmir.

She inspected the relief and rehabilitation work in the region.

Very few national leaders have been so close to the LoC. In fact, all that separated Sonia Gandhi and the people from PoK, was the Kishanganga river.

During her visit to the quake-hit areas in Uri on Friday, Sonia said she was satisfied with the relief work.

"A lot of work has been done, but there is still some work that remains. We must make sure that every individual receives relief. But on the whole I think work has been carried out well," she said.

Boosting students' morale

While most of the people were clamouring for relief, for the children of Teethwal, Sonia Gandhi's visit to their school was a major morale booster.

"It was really good that Sonia Gandhi visited our school. We had never thought that she would come to our school," said a student.

It was the Congress President's second visit to earthquake-hit areas in the state.

Sonia, who spent her birthday on Friday among the quake victims, said she was happy to celebrate her big day in this far more worthy manner.

"Well I thought it would be more worth one and time spending in better way. I came here to listen to the griviences of people," she said.

Keeping the promise

She also said that she had made a promise to come back and review the relief work and that she had kept her promise.

"I had come here on October 9, a day after the earthquake, and I promised that I would come back to inspect the relief work. I made sure that I fulfill the promise before the year-end,'' she added.

It was not only the people of Teethwal who were waiting for Sonia Gandhi, but people across the LoC in PoK also came out to watch her.

Hopefully, the visit will translate into a significant improvement in the distribution of relief.

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