Hyderabad, July (IANS) The Indian Air Force (IAF) air dropped around 600 kg of food packets for people stranded in flood-hit areas of Telangana on Friday.

The food packets included relief material contributed by the members of the Air Force Family Welfare Association, popularly known as 'Sanginis'.

Continuing their unflinching endeavour in providing relief to the marooned and grief-stricken populace in the flood-affected regions of Telangana, the IAF helicopters dropped around 600 kgs of food packets, a defence statement said.

The IAF personnel, apart from being the guardian of Indian aerospace, have always been at the forefront in providing Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) whenever nature wreaks havoc, it said.

In the instant case, the helicopters from Air Force Station Hakimpet in Hyderabad, which provide cutting-edge helicopter flying training to the IAF pilots, are specially tasked to undertake such an important commitment, the statement said.

They were instrumental in evacuating six people stranded atop a JCB in flood-stricken Nainpaka village in the Jayashankar Bhupalpally district on Thursday. The rescue operations will continue in the state, till the normalcy returns.

Meanwhile, Chief Secretary Santhi Kumari has asked district Collectors to continue rescue and relief works for another 24 hours. As the flood caused by the rains has receded, the Collectors were told to carry out sanitation programs vigorously to prevent the spread of infectious diseases in those areas. Proper care should be taken in providing infrastructure, adequate food and fresh water to the victims in the already established relief camps, she said.

The NDRF teams which are already in place should continue providing relief. Of the 10 NDRF teams, two teams are in Bhadrachalam and Nirmal while one team is placed in Kothagudem, Mulugu, Warangal, Khammam, Bhupalpally and Hyderabad.

She made it clear that the government is ready to provide whatever assistance is needed for the rehabilitation programmes.