Date:01/01/2005 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2005/01/01/stories/2005010103390500.htm

Andhra Pradesh

Digvijay tours tsunami-hit areas

By Our Staff Reporter

GUNTUR, DEC. 31. There is no need for formal declaration of a natural calamity as national calamity and then begin relief work. When any part or entire country is affected by such calamity, automatically it becomes eligible for an allocation from the National Calamity Relief Fund, according to the AICC general secretary, Digvijay Singh.

Addressing a press conference here on Friday after visiting tsunami-affected areas in Guntur and Prakasam districts, he said that the Prime Minister had initially released Rs.500 crores for relief operations and sent another Rs. 200 crores to the affected states to take up relief measures from their State relief fund.

The Prime Minster had set up a crisis management group at New Delhi, which was monitoring the situation every day twice and taking decisions, he said. For further relief needs the states would approach the NCRF headed by the Agriculture Minister, Sharad Pawar, who in turn would send a team to the states to assess the situation, he added.