Punjab CM Capt Amarinder announces Rs 10 crore relief for flood-hit Kerala

The first air force sortie was expected to take off on Saturday to deliver 30 tonnes of ready-to-eat food, such as biscuits, rusks, bottled water and milk powder, to the flood-hit state.

Punjab chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh has announced Rs 10 crore immediate relief for the flood-ravaged Kerala, where 106 people died on a single day on Thursday as the state plunged deeper into misery with hospitals facing shortage of oxygen and fuel stations running dry.

The death toll in Kerala in the current spell of heavy rains climbed to 180, and to 324 overall this monsoon season. (HT File)

While Rs 5 crore is being transferred from the Punjab Chief Minister’s Relief Fund to the Kerala CM’s Relief Fund, the remaining Rs 5 crore will be in the form of ready-to-eat food material and other supplies, to be flown out with the help of the Union defence ministry, an official spokesperson said.

The first air force sortie was expected to take off on Saturday to deliver 30 tonnes of ready-to-eat food, such as biscuits, rusks, bottled water and milk powder, to the flood-hit state. About 1-lakh food packets are to be sent in the first consignment. The remaining will be dispatched as and when requisitioned by the Kerala government, said the spokesperson.

A total of four sorties, carrying 30 tonnes each, would be undertaken, said the spokesperson, adding that the Punjab government was pulling out all the stops to ensure timely relief measures for the crisis-ridden Kerala.

Acting on the CM’s appeal, members of the Punjab IAS Officers’ Association have decided to donate their day’s salary each to the CM’s Relief Fund to support the Kerala relief measures. Amarinder has also appealed to other government employees to extend similar help.