Vijayawada, Sep 5 : Union Minister for Agriculture Shivraj Singh Chouhan will begin a two-day visit to the flood-affected areas of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana from Thursday.

The Union Minister posted on 'X' that under the direction of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he will be visiting the flood-affected areas of the two southern states.

Chouhan will arrive in Vijayawada on Thursday and will speak to people and farmers in the flood-hit areas. 'I will also hold a meeting with officials in Vijayawada to assess the damage caused in the flood-affected areas,' he said.

The Central Minister will visit the flood-affected Khammam district and other areas of Telangana. He would interact with the people and also the farmers to assess crop damage.

A team of officials from the Union Agriculture Ministry will accompany Chouhan on his visit to flood-affected areas. The team will hold meetings with officials of both the state governments to assess crop damage.

'The Central government is keeping an eye on the situation. In this hour of crisis, the Central government stands fully with the people of the flood-affected areas of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana and will provide all possible help to them in overcoming the crisis,' the Union Minister said.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah said on Wednesday that the Modi government was closely monitoring the ongoing flood situation in Andhra Pradesh.

The Ministry of Home Affairs constituted a central team of experts, led by the Additional Secretary (Disaster Management). The team will visit the flood-affected areas for an on-the-spot assessment of flood management, reservoir management, issues of dam safety, etc., and make recommendations for immediate relief.

Responding to a tweet by Amit Shah in this regard, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu thanked him and the Prime Minister for their prompt response to the flood situation in Andhra Pradesh.

'We welcome the Central team's visit for an on-the-spot assessment and look forward to their recommendations. The GoAP will extend full cooperation to the team to ensure timely relief for our affected people,' Naidu posted on X.

/IANS