Uttarakhand donations top Rs 180 crore

Coal India contributes Rs 50 cr for rehabilitation, the highest among companies, while Big B donates Rs 11 lakh

With the relief and rescue operations on in the floods-ravaged Uttarakhand, donations, too, are pouring in.

Movie star Ambitabh Bachchan took the lead from Bollywood by contributing Rs 11 lakh to the chief minister’s relief fund in the wake of the June 16-June 17 deluge. “We are happy Amitabhji has also sent money,” said an official.

Coal India is the highest contributor among companies, with a donation of Rs 50 crore. Uttar Pradesh is the largest contributor among states, with Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav sending a cheque of Rs 25 core.

With this, Uttarakhand has got a total of Rs 181.39 crore of donations mainly from corporates and states. “We are receiving funds from all over India,” said S S Rawat, secretary to the chief minister Vijay Bahuguna.

The minister has issued an appeal calling for contributions to his relief funds in the wake of the state’s worst disaster where over 370 people are dead and over 3,000 are missing.

Delhi, Punjab  and Haryana have contributed Rs 10 crore each while Karnataka, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Bihar have contributed Rs 5 crore each. The Border Security Force has given a cheque of Rs 10 crore.

ONGC, SBI, BHEL, Bharat Petroleum, Mahindra & Mahindra and Bharti Enterprises have contributed between Rs 1 crore and Rs 2 crore each.

Besides, the companies that have units in the state under the tax holiday scheme are also coming forward for the relief efforts. ITC, Nestle and Britannia have sent relief and food packages to the disaster-affected areas.

The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) has  formed a task force to provide relief. A team is already camping in the worst-affected Rudraprayag district. CII has identified clusters for relief and rehabilitation purposes in places like Augustamuni, Tilawara and Guptkashi in Rudraprayag and Pindar Valley in Chamoli.

CII would set up camps next week to provide temporary shelters, water purifiers, solar lanterns, blankets, torches and warm clothing.