In a benevolent gesture to help the flood stricken people of Uttarakhand, the Punjab Chief Minister Mr. Parkash Singh Badal today dispatched a cheque of Rs 5, 18, 75, 916 (Rupees Five crore Eighteen Lakh Seventy Five Thousand Nine hundred and Sixteen only) towards the Prime Minister's National Relief Fund for relief and rehabilitation of people affected by natural calamity in Uttarakhand.Disclosing this here today a spokesperson of the Chief Minister's Office said that Mr. Badal in an enclosed letter with the cheque sent to the Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh, read: " The natural calamity of flash floods which struck the state of Uttarakhand recently has been an incident of great destruction and misfortune for the inhabitants of the state as well as the tourist visiting it. The Ministers and Chief Parliamentary Secretaries of Punjab, philanthropic non-governmental organizations, associations, inpiduals and employees of the state government have contributed voluntarily and generously to provide succor to the people affected by the floods".
It may be recalled that Mr. Badal personally called on his counterpart in Uttarakhand Mr. Vijay Bahuguna on July 5 at Dehradun to express solidarity with the calamity affected people there. The state government had already sent a consignment of 10,000 tons of Wheat flour (Atta) and Rice, 100 tons of sugar besides 10,000 blankets, as a relief measure for the flood victims across the far flung areas of the hilly state. The Chief Minister also agreed to send 10,000 woollen sweaters and pullovers for the victims especially for the women and kids besides the delivery of dry milk powder in the region. Mr. Badal also offered all support and assistance to the Uttarakhand government for the reconstruction of severely damaged‘Sarai’ building at Gobind Ghat due to massive floods. Apart from this the Chief Minister also announced a grant of Rs. 10 crore for the reconstruction of all the religious shrines including Sri Kedarnath Temple and Gurdwara Gobind Ghat Sahib which had been badly ravaged during the recent floods.