TIRUVANANTHAPURAM : Ever since tragedy struck Kerala in the form of torrential rains and floods, the Indian Air Force (IAF) has been active in the relief and rescue operations, winching out stranded people, dropping food packets and transporting men and material. On Wednesday, the families of the IAF personnel came together to lend a helping hand to the flood-affected in various districts by contributing relief materials.
A convoy of trucks bearing toiletry items, clothing, sanitary napkins, toothpaste, bed sheets, candles, matchboxes and towels collected by the Air Force Wives Welfare Association (AFWWA) was handed over to Thiruvananthapuram District Collector K Vasuki. The convoy was flagged off from the Air Force Station, Shangumugham, in the presence of Air Marshal B Suresh, Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Southern Air Command (SAC) and the District Collector.
‘’Throughout this flood situation, the Air Force has provided amazing support to the state government for coping with the situation. It is only because of the defence forces and central and state government and government cooperation that we were able to cope with the disaster,’’ Vasuki said. Radha Suresh, regional president of AFWWA, said the consignment consisted of 1,800 ready to use packages. ‘’From our experience, we know that if the woman is comfortable, if her basic needs are taken care of, then she’ll pull the whole family through.
She’ll rise up to the occasion and make the whole family rise up. We pray that they all recover at the earliest and are able to lead normal lives,’’ she said. AFWWA national unit had contributed Rs 5 lakh and the regional unit over Rs 4 lakh to collect the relief materials. Earlier, AFWWA had earlier contributed 19 tonnes of ration, sanitary items, milk powder, clothing and baby food on August 17.