Driving Naari Programme launched in Chandigarh
* Badal appeals people to donate generously to bail out the
distressed families in J&K
Chandigarh, Punjab Chief Minister Mr. Parkash Singh Badal’s initiative for relief to the beleaguered victims of unprecedented floods in J&K today took off as the Punjab Government dispatched one lac cooked food packets for the victims of the worst ever natural calamity that ravaged the Valley beyond anyone’s imagination.
Disclosing this here today, a spokesperson of the Chief Minister’s Office said that out of nearly one lac cooked food packets, 26,000 have been contributed by SGPC and the rest have been donated by the prominent religious and social organizations of Rupnagar, SAS Nagar (Mohali), Amritsar and Jalandhar. Apart from this, nearly 600 blankets, 35 quintals of dry ration and clothing kits have been dispatched from Amritsar through special IAF plane.
Expressing solidarity with the government and the people of J&K in their hour of crisis, Mr. Badal had assured the J&K government of all possible help and support. Responding to an appeal issued by the Chief Minister, various voluntary, social and religious organizations, including the SGPC have pooled in with liberal help.
The spokesperson further said that on the directions of Mr. Badal, the state Chief Secretary was overall coordinating the entire relief operations from Punjab for the flood affected families in J&K. Principal Secretary Coordination Mr. Sanjay Kumar has been deputed as nodal officer for keeping liaison with all the Deputy Commissioners in the state for the dispatch of relief material from different parts of the state and Resident Commissioner Punjab Bhawan, New Delhi Mr. K.Shiva Parshad has been asked to coordinate with the Ministry of Defence and the J&K government to assess the demand for relief material as per their requirement to be sent from Punjab. Likewise, Deputy Commissioners of Amritsar and SAS Nagar (Mohali) have been asked to coordinate with the Airport Authorities at Amritsar and Chandigarh to ensure timely and safe air lifting of relief material to the J&K.
The Chief Minister also appealed to the people of Punjab to donate generously for this noble cause as the Punjabis were known for magnanimity and sense of belongingness world over and called upon them to demonstrate their all pervasive spirit of charity.
