Mamata sending relief aircraft to Uttarakhand

The state government will charter flights to bring back pilgrims from Bengal who have been rescued but are stuck in Dehradun. “We’ll soon send chartered planes to bring home pilgrims who are still stranded in Uttarakhand,” chief minister Mamata Banerjee told reporters yesterday.

The state government will charter flights to bring back pilgrims from Bengal who have been rescued but are stuck in Dehradun. “We’ll soon send chartered planes to bring home pilgrims who are still stranded in Uttarakhand,” chief minister Mamata Banerjee told reporters on Tuesday.

HT Image

Sports minister Madan Mitra, who was in Dehradun to coordinate relief efforts, returned to the city on Tuesday. But his cabinet collegue, Rachpal Singh, is still in Uttarakhand to facilitate the return of tourists to Bengal. “On Thursday, a flight will be leaving for Kolkata from Dehradun carrying 138 passengers. The ill, injured, aged, women and children will be accommodated in that plane,” Rachpal Singh told HT from Haridwar.

The state government will bear the cost of hiring the chartered flight.