Chandigarh, Sep 3 : Aam Aadmi Party's National Convenor Arvind Kejriwal will be visiting Punjab on Thursday to meet people in flood-hit villages.

The main objective of this visit is to personally review the relief and rescue operations on the ground and to meet the affected families in person to share their grief and suffering.

Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann will accompany him during this visit, an official statement said on Wednesday.

As part of the visit, Kejriwal, along with Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, will travel to the worst-affected flood-hit areas. They will personally visit relief camps to meet the people, inspect the facilities being provided, and review the rescue operations being carried out by the administration. This visit by the AAP leadership will also boost the morale of all party workers and officials who have been selflessly engaged in relief efforts round-the-clock.

Before the visit, in his message, Kejriwal said the entire organisation of Aam Aadmi Party, from our workers to the Chief Minister, ministers, and MLAs, are standing like a rock with the people of Punjab in this terrible tragedy. 'I salute the spirit of all those who are risking their lives to save others. The people of Punjab are courageous, and together we will overcome this flood tragedy, and Punjab will flourish again. I appeal to people across the country to come forward and extend every possible help to Punjab,' he said.

Meanwhile, state Revenue Minister Hardeep Mundian said the state is reeling under one of the worst floods in recent decades, with widespread crop devastation reported in 175,216 hectares. He said Gurdaspur, Amritsar, Mansa, Ferozepur and Fazilka are among the worst-hit districts, accounting for the bulk of the agricultural losses.

The scale of damage to crops, villages, and population underlines the severity of the calamity that has gripped 23 districts of Punjab.

Giving details of relief operations, Mundian said over 20,000 people have been evacuated from low-lying and severely affected areas. Major evacuations were carried out in Gurdaspur (5,581 people), followed by Ferozepur (3,495), Amritsar (2,734), Fazilka (2,422), Hoshiarpur (1,615), Kapurthala (1,428), Pathankot (1,139), Barnala (369), Jalandhar (474), Mansa (16), Rupnagar (65), Moga (115) and Tarn Taran (21).

/IANS