India sends relief to cyclone-hit Bangladesh

An Indian Air Force transport plane carrying relief material for cyclone victims in Bangladesh, left for Dhaka from New Delhi on Thursday.

New Delhi, Nov 22 : An Indian Air Force transport plane carrying relief material for cyclone victims in Bangladesh, left for Dhaka from New Delhi on Thursday.

"We are carrying relief material from people of India for people of Bangladesh. We are flying from Delhi to Dhaka and we are carrying relief material of about 38 to 40 tonnes. This consists of bandages, ready to eat food material along with medicines," said Wing Commander J. Narula of the Indian Air Force.

The plane is expected to reach Dhaka later in the day. Another plane containing similar relief material will leave from India for Bangladesh on Friday.

India has already pledged 40 million rupees as relief to Bangladesh as relief.

Emergency aid continued to pour in from all over the world in Bangladesh, with the latest being 250 million dollars offered by the World Bank. It was the single largest aid offer after the King of Saudi Arabia pledged 100 million dollars.

Bangladesh has also received aid offers totalling 90 million dollars from other countries and agencies.

Washington has pledged 2.1 million U.S. dollars in emergency aid and the United States has already sent two C-130 transport aircraft, while two U.S. naval vessels were on the way to Bangladesh.

Relief operators in the affected districts said supplies were still inadequate.

With a wind speed of up to 240 kph, the cyclone roared in from the Bay of Bengal just before dusk on Thursday, killing over a thousand and damaging homes and crops.

Southern Bangladesh is often hit by cyclones, but experts say the latest is a category four storm, the most powerful so far in the season.

Close to five lakh people died in 1970 when a cyclone hit the country. A similar storm claimed 143,000 lives in 1991.

ANI