Date:11/10/2005 URL: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2005/10/11/stories/2005101102611900.htm

Back Health Ministry sends medicines to J&K

Our Bureau

New Delhi , Oct. 10

THE Health Ministry today airlifted Rs 30 lakh worth of intravenous fluids, sets and injections for relief in the quake-affected areas of Jammu and Kashmir.

Orders worth Rs 4 crore have already been placed for immediate procurement and supply of emergency medicines, equipment and consumables.

According to an official release, the Directorate General of Health Services is in touch with the State authorities and a control room has been set up in the Health Ministry to coordinate the relief activity. A 30-member rapid response team of doctors constituted by the Health Ministry has been kept on stand-by and another team from the All Indian Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) has been kept on alert.

Besides this, 10,000 blankets provided by the Indian Red Cross Society have already been airlifted and another 10,000 have been organised. The Red Cross is also arranging 1,400 tents to be airlifted to afflicted areas.