Date:28/12/2004 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2004/12/28/stories/2004122809670100.htm

Front Page

Rs. 500-crore Central relief

By Our New Delhi Bureau

NEW DELHI, DEC. 27. Signalling an all-out mobilisation of national resources to meet the relief and rehabilitation in Tamil Nadu and other tsunami-hits parts of South India, the Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, will tour the affected region over the next two days.

As the first step, the Union Cabinet today allocated Rs. 500 crores for the National Calamity Contingency Fund to meet the relief and rehabilitation requirements of the tsunami victims

It decided to treat the disaster as equivalent to the '99 supercyclone in Orissa. A special Cabinet committee will meet twice a day to monitor and guide relief and rehabilitation measures.

Dr. Singh will chair the meeting when he is here . He spoke today to the Presidents of Sri Lanka and Maldives and assured them of full support.