Chandigarh (Punjab) [India], September 4 (ANI): The Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Punjab Kings (PBKS) on Thursday announced a partnership with Hemkunt Foundation and Round Table India as part of their 'Together for Punjab' campaign to support the flood relief efforts across the flood hit districts in the state of Punjab.

As part of their efforts, Punjab Kings will help the organisations with a donation worth Rs 33.8 Lakhs.

The funds will help in providing inflatable rescue boats for the evacuation of stranded families, medical emergencies and delivery of essential relief supplies along with clean drinking water to support flood-affected individuals in the State. The boats will also continue to be used as disaster-response assets in Punjab for future emergencies.

Fund Raising for Punjab

Punjab Kings is also launching a fundraising campaign on Ketto with an aim of raising INR 2 Crore till September 15 to provide relief to the flood-affected people and regions of Punjab. The funds collected will be donated to the The Global Sikh charity, who will use the aid to further assist the efforts for rebuilding Punjab.

Talking about the initiative, Punjab Kings released a statement, 'We are devastated to witness the suffering caused by floods across our beloved state, and we are joining hands with Hemkunt Foundation and RTI to contribute towards helping all those who are affected. Our efforts will be used in helping the victims across flood-affected regions and strengthening resilience for Sadda Punjab in the hour of need.'

Due to severe flooding, around 37 lives have been lost due to severe flood, announced the state government on Thursday.

According to the government of Punjab, around 1,655 villages have been affected, with Gurdaspur the most affected area, as 324 villages were impacted by flooding, followed by Ferozepur (111), Amritsar (190), Hoshiarpur (121), Kapurthala (123) and Sangrur (107). As per the government, around 1,75,216 hectares of total cropland have been affected.

But in order to deal with severe floods, the government has stepped up rescue and relief operations across the state. Punjab Police is using drones to deliver relief to flood-hit villages in Amritsar, trying to reach various affected areas like Ajnala. In other parts of the state, evacuation drives were conducted in villages along the Sutlej, where residents were asked to shift to relief camps established by the government. (ANI)