Kerala - Kottayam   

Concern over unauthorised funds collection

By Our Staff Reporter

KOTTAYAM, JAN. 1. A meeting of academics and activists held at the School of Social Sciences at Mahatma Gandhi University has called upon the authorities to focus on the rehabilitation and epidemic-control operations in the tsunami-hit areas.

A statement signed by Rajan Gurukkal; M.R. Raghava Warrier; C.R. Neelakantan Namboodiri; V. K. Unniyal; S. Sivadas and Joseph Nedumburam stressed the need to be cautious against the funds going into the wrong hands and wrong priorities.

The funds, instead of getting into the hands of the construction lobbies, should be spent on rehabilitation and health needs that would have immediate results, they said. One of the focus areas should be drinking water for the affected as all drinking water sources had been destroyed in the disaster, they said.

Give jobs to the affected

Care should be taken to ensure employment opportunities for the affected people in the rehabilitation projects, they said. They warned the authorities against channelising the funds into enterprises like prawn culture in the disaster hit areas.

They expressed concern over the statements made by persons in authority on construction of sea-wall without going into the merit of such constructions as a defence against tsunami attacks. They also expressed concern at the large number of unauthorised agencies getting into fund collection mode in the name of the tsunami disaster.

Funds mismanagement

Our Staff Reporter add from Thrissur: C.K. Chandrappan, MP, and K.P. Rajendran, MLA, have alleged that relief funds collected for the tsunami-affected are being mismanaged in the country.

Addressing a press conference on Monday, they said that only Rs. 3 crores of the Rs. 12 crores allocated for relief work in Gujarat had been spent so far.

The relief funds allocated by the State Government to various districts in Kerala and the River Management Fund too had not been used properly, they alleged.

Mr. Chandrappan said that assistance from the Centre had been sought to construct sea-walls and develop mangroves in the coastal belt of Thrissur district.

``We have requested the Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, to look into the matter. His response has been positive,'' Mr. Chandrappan said.

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Concern over unauthorised funds collection

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