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PM announces relief measures for
riot victims

The package includes free ration for two months for families living below poverty line in violence-hit areas.

Announcing the measures at the end of his day-long visit to Gujarat, Vajpayee told reporters that the expenditure on food grain provided in the relief camps would be borne by the Centre.

Each bereaved family would be paid Rs 100,000 as ex-gratia from the Prime Minister's Relief Fund, Vajpayee said. This would be in addition to the Rs 50,000 each being given to the affected families by the state government.

Those who had suffered permanent disability in the violence would be given Rs 50,000 each, he said.

Vajpayee said the Centre would bear the entire cost of rehabilitation of all orphans and widows.

He said all children in relief camps would be provided one set of textbook and school uniforms free of cost.

Referring to the rehabilitation of affected people in rural areas, the prime minister said Rs 50,000 would be given to those whose houses had been fully damaged, while Rs 15,000 would be given to those whose dwellings had suffered partial damage during the riots.

In the urban areas, reconstruction would be undertaken after carrying of a comprehensive survey, he said, adding that the Centre would bear the complete cost.

The prime minister cautioned that there should be no discrimination on communal lines in matters of rehabilitation.

In areas where factories and shops had been damaged, adequate relief amount would be given after the survey was conducted, he said

Vajpayee, who visited Godhra before going around Ahmedabad, appealed to political parties to rise above party lines and devote themselves to rehabilitation of the riot-affected people.

"It is time for people to get over whatever happened in Gujarat, give up the feeling of hatred and look ahead to bring about peace and normalcy in the state whose economy has been severely hit by the violence," he said.

He asserted that maintenance of law and order was a priority for the state to attract investment, since Gujarat had an established industrial infrastructure.

The prime minister said fear was still there in the minds of the riot victims and they were scared to return home. He said people would have to cooperate in efforts to bring back the state on the road to communal harmony and peace.

PTI

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