Karnataka donates Rs 5 crore to flood-hit Uttarakhand

: Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah today announced a contribution of Rs five crore to the Uttarakhand government to provide relief to the flood affected victims in the state.
"It is our duty to help the pilgrims and people of Uttarakhand on humanitarian basis and hence my government has decided to donate Rs five crore..." Siddaramaiah said.
Siddaramaiah, in a statement here, also said the government would spend Rs 50 lakh to bring back the stranded pilgrims belonging to the state from Uttarakhand.
He said as many as 1,200 pilgrims out of 67,000 stranded in Kedarnath, Badrinath, Gangotri and Yamonotri are natives of Karnataka. "We are making all efforts to bring them back to safety," he added.

Siddaramaiah said the government has opened a relief centre at Rishikesh and affected people have been provided free food, medicines and water. "Staying facilities also have been set up in the camp," he added.
The state has also dispatched a team of doctors to attend to the medical needs of the affected people, he said.

The government would shift the affected pilgrims from Rishikesh relief camp to Delhi, from where they would be transported free of cost to Bangalore, Siddaramaiah said.
Karnataka Infrastructure Minister Santosh Lad has also been sent to overlook relief work being carried out to save pilgrims from the state, Siddaramaiah said.

The government has also opened a calamity management centre at Dehra Dun, he added.