The Punjab government has tasked Director Sainik Welfare D S Jaswal to mobilise ex-servicemen for carrying out relief work in Tsunami hit areas.
While one team would be stationed in Chandigarh to co-ordinate relief work and collect donations, other teams comprising mostly doctors, nurses, paramedical staff and engineers would be dispatched to the affected areas. The Department of Sainik Welfare is seeking donations from the public in this regard. In an allied development, an IL-76 transport aircraft took off from 12 Wing Air Force Station today carrying 51 ITBP personnel and about 10 tonnes of relief load. The sorties, headed for Port Blair, stopped at Delhi en route to take additional relief load. The Air Force is planning another sortie on Wednesday to airlift more relief material. Sources say that another 52 ITBP personnel have been kept on standby for relief operations.
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n The NSS unit of SGGS College, Sector 26, under the guidance of Prof Charnjit Singh and Prof Amandeep Kaur, programme officers NSS, went around the northern sectors of Chandigarh today to collect funds for the victims of earthquake in south India.
A sum of Rs 15,000 besides a large number of clothes and woolens were collected. These items will be sent for the relief of tsunami victims in Tamil Nadu. Yesterday, the unit had organised a free dental and eye check-up camp in which free medicines were distributed.
n The Servants of the People Society, Sector 15, is organising and mobilising resources for providing relief and rehabilitation to those affected by the earthquake. Onkar Chand, Vice-president of the Servants of the people Society and chairman of the Chandigarh branch said, ‘‘I am confident that citizens of Chandigarh will once again rise to the occasion by not only empathising with the victims but also contributing generously as always.’’
Contributions can be made to Servants of the People Society, Lajpat Rai Bhavan, Sector 15-B, Chandigarh, for the same.
n Similarly, the staff of the State Bank of Patiala, main branch Kalka, today donated their one day salary towards the Prime Minister’s Relief Fund for relief and rescue operations along India’s south east coast which was severely affected by the tidal waves.
n Punjab University Vice-Chancellor Dr K.N. Pathak and other university employees have also decided to contribute their one day salary towards the relief fund.
The Finance and Development Officer (FDO) of the University has been authorised to deduct this amount from the salary of the employees.
A statement signed by Dharam Paul Sharma, president of PU (Non-teaching) Employees Federation, and Dr Charanjeev Singh, secretary of PUTA, further requested the FDO to ask university employees posted at Muktsar, Ludhiana, Hoshiarpur, Shimla and Dalhousie to seek their consent and send a draft to the Prime Minister’s office by January 10, 2005.
n Also, the National Students Union of India, today in a meeting chaired by NSUI president Nitin Goyal, has decided to collect donation for the Prime Ministers’ Relief Fund. A special relief collection cell was also formed and Rajesh Kumar was appointed the cell incharge. People interested in making contributions can contact Rajesh Kumar at 9872725599.
n UT Red Cross Society has decided to donate Rs 5 lakh to the Prime Minister’s Relief Fund for the tidal wave victims in South India and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
Deputy Commissioner Arun Kumar said donations can be made in cheque/draft and can be sent to the office of the Deputy Commissioner or to the Secretary, UT Red Cross Society, Karuna Sadan Building, Sector 11.
Defence group says don’t spend on parties, donate for victims
The working committee of the All India Defence Brotherhood at Mohali today appealed to all the people to cancel their New Year celebrations’ in view of the unprecedented devastation caused by the tsunami waves in half a dozen countries of South East Asia including the southern states in India.
In his appeal, the president of the organisation Brigadier Harwant Singh has urged the people to donate generously which they would otherwise spend on the new year celebrations. People have been asked to mobilise opinion so that at least the loss of property can be made up for.
The organisation has also appealed to the Central and the State governments to tighten their machinery to channelise the money collected for the Prime Minister’s Relief Fund.