Keeping up its assistance to the tsunami-hit southern states, Chief Minister Narendra Modi flagged off a 40-coach goods train with relief material to Chennai on Saturday.
The special train carried 25 coaches of relief material from Ahmedabad and 15 from Vadodara. Bhatt said the State has sent over 1,200 tonnes of rice, green food grains, vegetables, medicines, biscuits, drinking water, utensils, plastic buckets, blankets, new clothes, tents and mattresses.
Ahmedabad Collector D Thara said, ‘‘Till today we have sent four plane loads of relief supplies like drinking water, torches and gen-sets from the State, of which the first two plane loads comprised supplies from the city. Even as we are talking the fifth plane for Chennai is being loaded and the sixth and seventh will leave Ahmedabad airport on Sunday early morning.’’
Ten HAM operators from the State have reached Chennai to help trace the dead and provide information about the missing in calamity-hit Andaman and Nicobar Islands, said Law Minister Ashok Bhatt.
“The HAM operators reached Chennai today and would be suitably deployed by the relief managers there,” said the minister, who has just returned from a four-day visit to some of the worst-affected areas.
Over 1,000 voluntary organisations have joined the State Government’s relief collection campaign. The state has so far dispatched hundreds of tonnes of relief material by four aircraft and over 400 trucks since the disaster.
‘‘There is a tremendous response from people of Gujarat, especially Ahmedabad, for the tsunami-affected people of Andaman and Nicobar Islands,’’ said Jijo Thomas, Deputy Resident Commissioner of Andaman and Nicobar Administration, who is co-ordinating relief work from Chennai for the people of the islands.
‘‘Ever since the news of tsunami spread, I think the largest number of phone calls extending help to the affected people has been from Ahmedabad. Today, a man from Ahmedabad carrying relief goods on his own came to my office. ’’ added Thomas.
‘‘It seems that these peole who bore the brunt of the 2001 temblor empathise with the tsunami-affected people,’’ said Jijo Thomas.