Gujarati family to aid Rs 1 lakh to each Pulwama martyrs’ families

Gandhinagar, Feb 16 (IANS) An Ahmedabad-based Gujarati business family will donate Rs 1 lakh to each family of the CRPF troopers slain in the terror attack in the Pulwama district of Jammu and Kashmir's on Thursday.

Briefing the media, Gujarat's Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel said, "Babubhai Patel, a friend of mine, and his family have decided to donate Rs 1 lakh each to the family of all the CRPF troopers killed in the tragic incident in Pulwama. This is a wonderful gesture by the family. We hope more such donors will come forward and lend their support to the victims' families and show their solidarity towards the nation."

Babubhai Patel is the owner of Jai Somnath Infrastructure Private Limited, which deals in infrastructure-related projects across the country.

"After Thursday's incident, we, as a family, felt we cannot bring back to life the martyred troopers but we can lend financial assistance to their families. We have decided to donate Rs 1 lakh each to the martyrs' families," Babubhai said.

With the budget session of the Gujarat Assembly beginning on Monday,

The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has convened a meeting of legislators here on Sunday, ahead of the budget session of the Assembly, beginning on Monday. Besides discussions on the session, the meeting is also expected to take up donations to be made by the legislators to the martyrs' families.

"BJP MLAs will chip in to help the martyred troopers' families. The amount of donation will be decided at Sunday meeting," said the Deputy Chief Minister.

In the worst-ever terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir since militancy erupted in 1989, a suicide bomber on Thursday rammed his SUV packed with explosives into a CRPF bus on the Srinagar-Jammu highway in Pulwama district, killing 49 troopers.