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Gujarat sends relief materials

By Our Special Correspondent

AHMEDABAD, JAN. 2. The Gujarat Chief Minister, Narendra Modi, last night flagged off a goods train carrying over 1,400 tonnes of relief materials for the tsunami-hit people of Tamil Nadu and other affected areas in south India.

Senior railway officials assured that the relief supplies would be given priority clearance to reach its destination at the earliest.

Mr. Modi said another train carrying relief materials would be leaving for Chennai in a couple of days while wagon loads of supplies were being dispatched from Vadodara for the southern States. The State Government had requested the Centre to spare a cargo plane to send about 40 tonnes of potable water to the affected areas, particularly the Andaman and Nicobar Islands where the people were facing acute shortage of drinking water.

Mr. Modi said the Government would provide food supplies to one lakh tsunami-hit families for one month regularly.

"We are only returning the support we received from all when the State was hit by the killer earthquake in January 2001," Mr. Modi said. Cash collection was also getting encouraging response and till yesterday donations of more than Rs. 16 crores had reached the Chief Minister's Relief Fund.

The State also planned to send 100 trucks with relief supply. Of this, 46 had already left.

A plane made four trips from here to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands supplying tents, generator sets, torches, and clothing and other materials specifically suggested by the Lt. Governor, Ram Kapase, during his talks with the State Government officials at Port Blair.

Radio operators begin work

A nine-member team of amateur Ham radio operators trained at the Gujarat Institute of Amateur Radio, Gandhinagar, has already reached the islands to restore the Union Territory's communication system.

According to a senior State Government official, the team has set up three base radio stations in the worst-hit areas while six of the team members would act as mobile station operators.

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Gujarat sends relief materials

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