Welcoming the Government’s decision to decline foreign assistance for tsunami relief work, Union Minister of Chemicals and Fertilisers and Steel Ram and LJP chief Vilas Paswan has said the country is self-sufficient enough to meet emergency requirements.
“It’s a question of self-esteem. India no longer is dependant country. There are several party workers, including that of the LJP, and volunteers helping the government in relief work. We have adequate resources to meet calamities,” Paswan said.
He explained the greatest need of the hour is proper distribution of relief materials among the victims, as the aid is not likely to be scarce.
Describing the situation in Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry after Sunday’s tsunami as “very bad”, Union Minister of Chemicals and Fertilisers and Steel Ram Vilas Paswan said the relief work for tsunami victims was not yielding desired results. He pointed out that the various groups carrying out relief work, both government and private, lacked coordination.
Narrating his assessment of the situation in both the states, he said relief work in Pondicherry was in a much better state than Tamil Nadu. “Probably, better care is being taken in Pondicherry because the scale of tradegy is much greater in Tamil Nadu,” he added.
Stating that a majority of the dead belonged to weaker sections, he emphasised on the urgency to provide the surviving victims, mostly fisherfolk, with drinking water, food and boats. He also underlined the need for cleaning up the disaster sites to prevent the outbreak of epidemics.
{{/usCountry}}Stating that a majority of the dead belonged to weaker sections, he emphasised on the urgency to provide the surviving victims, mostly fisherfolk, with drinking water, food and boats. He also underlined the need for cleaning up the disaster sites to prevent the outbreak of epidemics.
{{/usCountry}}Paswan also called upon the private organizations and people in Delhi to volunteer in relief work for the tsunami victims.
He informed that he would submit his assessment report to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh soon.
Paswan was on a two-day tour of Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry on the 28th and 29th of this month.