90 tonnes air cargo of medical kits, medicines sent to NE

 Over 90 tonnes of air cargo, comprising medical kits, personal protective gears and medicines, have been transported to north-eastern states from Delhi and other places, according to officials on Tuesday.

Airport Authority of India (AAI) Regional Executive Director Sanjeev Jindal said, "The lifeline UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Naagrik) portal was launched with cargo flights and routes sketched for domestic transportation of essential and emergency goods, especially medical ones, to the farthest places in the country. Some cargo hubs were created and ports identified for ferrying these goods."

The northeast has received special attention for cargo flights, comprising dedicated freighters and helicopters. Many sorties have been conducted to supply medical goods to the region.

Jindal said while commercial flights ceased from March 24 midnight after announcement of the lockdown, 12 airports in the northeast were opened with minimum staff to run the emergency and essential services.

On the resumption of commercial flights from April 15, the AAI official said the decision was yet to be taken by the government but airports in the northeast were ready to provide all the services. IANS