The Hindu : Relief sought for Gujarat victims

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Mar 20, 2002

National

National

Relief sought for Gujarat victims

By S. Shanker

CHENNAI MARCH 19. The National Commission for Minorities (NCM) has met the Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee, and impressed upon him the need to provide early compensation and relief to Gujarat victims.

The Commission vice-chairman, Tarlochan Singh, said the NCM told Mr. Vajpayee recently that there were 90,000 victims in relief camps. It sought the Prime Minister's intervention for offering financial relief to the victims whose business houses were destroyed in the riots. It also sought the RBI's assistance to soften the load of interest and repayment on the trading community and for extending soft loans to re-establish themselves. A similar relief exercise was offered during the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.

The Commission listed its priorities and emphasised that swift relief measures alone would help curb further damage. The issue was what happened in Gujarat and not just what took place at Godhra. "There are 38,000 victims in Ahmedabad alone and their relatives and friends are bound to be incensed,'' he said.

The panel sought the holding of inter-faith meetings for restoring public confidence. Visits by religious heads to the affected areas would help, such as the recent visit of the Kanchi pontiff to Ahmedabad. However, "speedy relief and rehabilitation of victims were of far greater importance than the cries for the ouster of the Gujarat Chief Minister''. The Commission members had visited Gujarat and a detailed report was being compiled for submission to the Centre.

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

National