Senior Chinese leader Li Keqiang urged local authorities in Sichuan Province to act quickly and take intensified and concrete measures to fight the unprecedented bad winter weather.

Li, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), made an inspection tour to the southwest province from January 30 to February 2 to visit those affected by snow and to direct disaster relief work.

Since January 11, northeast Sichuan has suffered the most serious ice and snow-incurred disasters since the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949. This has made a severe impact on production and the lives of locals.

About 10.3 million residents, mainly in the mountainous and impoverished regions, were affected by the disaster as of Friday noon.

Braving the snow, Li's tour covered more than 1,000 kilometers and took in villages, bus stations, markets and a power plant in the province's worst-hit areas, including Dazhou, Bazhong and Guang'an.

He stressed local Party committees and governments at various levels must regard disaster relief as the "most pressing task" and comprehensively carry out anti-disaster measures, ensuring smooth communications, transport and electricity supply as a priority.

Upon his arrival in Dazhou City on the evening of January 30, Li heard reports from the local government on the disaster effects.

It has been extremely difficult to conduct disaster relief in the city nestled in Daba Mountain with many highly-populated villages scattered in the mountainous areas.

Li exhorted local officials to ensure the supply of drinking water by ensuring timely shipments on Thursday morning as he spotted a frozen water cooler and seized pipelines in the house of He Jichi in Ziyun Village in Dazhou.

During his conversation with villager Ma Maojie, Li was told many migrant workers who had left to work outside Sichuan could not return home for their family reunion during next week's Spring Festival as a result of bad weather. He immediately asked the local government to ensure the life of these households.

Li also visited a small shop in the village that was suffering a shortage of festive goods as the snow had sealed mountain passes for more than 20 days.

The local government must ensure goods supply to meet local residents' demand in the festive season, he said.

During his visit to a shelter in Qingning Village in Dazhou and Dafosi Village in Bazhong City, Li expressed sympathy and solicitude for the people of disaster-stricken areas and poor farmers.

On Februay 1, Li visited a farm produce market in Guang'an City to size up the situation of market supply and commodity prices. On his way down the hill, he picked up more than 20 local residents who had been waiting for buses.

Li asked party committees at all levels to make coordinated efforts on combating the appalling weather to ensure the people enjoy a happy and peaceful Spring Festival that falls on Thursday.

Prolonged icy rain and heavy snow that have snarled China's central, southern and eastern regions over the past three weeks have caused economic losses of about 53.8 billion yuan (US$7.5 billion). At least 60 people have died and nearly 1.76 million were relocated, according to the Ministry of Civil Affairs.

(Xinhua News Agency February 3, 2008)