State pledges Rs. 5 cr. for quake relief

By Our Special Correspondent

BANGALORE, JAN. 27. In response to the Prime Minister, Mr. A. B. Vajpayee's call to treat the earthquake in Gujarat on Friday as a ``national calamity'', the State Government today sanctioned Rs. 5 crores for relief operations, of which Rs. 2 crores has been released.

A high-level meeting convened by the Chief Minister, Mr. S. M. Krishna, this morning also decided to send foodgrains, clothes, blankets and medicines to the affected people. Three truck-loads of blankets worth Rs. 45 lakhs were dispatched from Bangalore, Chitradurga and Belgaum and efforts were on to airlift material on IAF aircraft.

A team of 12 orthopaedic surgeons and anaesthetists from government hospitals, led by Dr. Sadashiva Murthy, Director of Sanjay Gandhi Accident Relief Hospital and Research Institute, has left for Ahmedabad. They will assist the Gujarat Government in relief operations.

Another team of doctors from private hospitals will leave for Ahmedabad soon. The team will also carry essential medicines.

The Minister for Law and Parliamentary Affairs, Mr. D. B. Chandre Gowda, told presspersons here that the State Government had contacted with the Resident Commissioner of Gujarat in New Delhi and offered to send foodgrains and other articles that may be required.

While the Chief Secretary, Ms. Teresa Bhattacharya, would be in constant touch with Gujarat Bhavan and coordinate the supply of these articles, a senior minister would be deputed to supervise the arrangements, he said.

The employees of the Karnataka Power Transmission Corporation Ltd. (KPTCL) had already agreed to donate a day's pay, amounting to Rs. 1.5 crores, towards the Gujarat Earthquake Relief Fund, he said and hoped that other employees would also come forward to help.

Cong(I) plenary session may be put off

The AICC(I) plenary session scheduled to begin on February 14 is likely to be postponed because of the calamity in Gujarat.This was indicated by Mr. Chandre Gowda at his press conference here today. He said that it was the view of the party units in several States that the session be postponed.

It may be noted that the AICC(I) President, Ms. Sonia Gandhi, had indicated in an interview to a TV channel that the party would not go ahead with any conference or meeting in view of the tragedy in Gujarat.

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Section  : Southern States
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