Punjab dispatches one lakh food packets to Jammu Kashmir

Chandigarh, Sep 12:

government today dispatched one lakh packets of cooked food for

of flood ravaged

.

Out of these, 26,000 have been contributed by Shiromani Gurudwara Parbhandhak Committee (SGPC) and the rest have been donated by religious and social organisations of Rupnagar, SAS Nagar (Mohali), Amritsar and Jalandhar, a official spokesman said here.

Besides, 600 blankets, 35 quintal of dry ration and clothes have been dispatched from Amritsar by special IAF plane, he said. Expressing solidarity with the government and the people of Jammu and Kashmir in their hour of crisis, Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal has assured the J and K government all possible help and support.

Meanwhile, responding to an appeal issued by the Chief Minister, various voluntary, social and religious organisations, including the SGPC, have collected relief materials. The spokesperson said that on the directions of Badal, Chief Secretary Sarvesh Kaushal was coordinating the entire relief operations from Punjab for the flood affected families in J and K.

Principal Secretary Coordination Sanjay Kumar has been deputed as nodal officer. Punjab's Resident Commissioner in Delhi K Shiva Parshad has been asked to coordinate with Defence Ministry and the J and K government to assess the demand for relief materials to be sent from Punjab, the spokesman said.

Deputy Commissioners of Amritsar and SAS Nagar (Mohali) have been asked to coordinate with airport authorities at Amritsar and Chandigarh to ensure timely air lifting of relief material to the J and K, he said.

The Chief Minister also appealed to the people of Punjab to donate generously for the flood victims.

PTI