Rotary Intl for more humanitarian programmes

Chennai, Sep 14 (UNI) The Rotary International will initiate more humanitarian programmes in India in the coming years, particularly in the most backward states like Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Uttaranchal and Jammu and Kashmir as it is second largest donor in the world, Rotary Foundation USA Board of Trustees Chairman Luis Vincente Giay has said.

Addressing a press conference here yesterday, Mr Giay said the Rotary was providing monetary support to different humanitarian programmes in the world to the tune of 250 million US Dollar a year.

Since 1984, India received major percentage of the funds and several programmmes like ''Polio Plus'' were successfully implemented.

Rotary District 3230 Governor J B Kamdar said the apart from rehabilitating tsunami-affected people, the Rotary would set up a Deep Freezing Unit at Sonnarikattukuppam and a hospital at Kannathur at the cost of Rs 2.5 crore for which the state government had allocated one acre of land free of cost.

The Rotary had treated about 250 children in Coimbatore under the 'Gift of life' programme launched four years ago to provide free treatment to children with heart ailments. It was aiming to cover 1,000 children.

In India, the Rotary was spending nearly three to five million US Dollar a year for humanitarian and education activities, he added.

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