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Community centres, classrooms for tsunami-hit areas

Special Correspondent

Rajiv Gandhi National Relief and Welfare Trust to provide Rs. 5.5 crores for the project

— Photo: T. Singaravelou

PACT SIGNED: Motilal Vora, MP and Trustee of the Rajiv Gandhi National Relief and Welfare Trust, New Delhi (right), addressing presspersons after signing an MoU with Pondicherry Government and Project Implementation Agency in Pondicherry on Tuesday.

PONDICHERRY: A tripartite Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed on Tuesday in Raj Nivas among the Rajiv Gandhi National Relief and Welfare Trust, the Pondicherry Government and its Project Implementation Agency (PIA) for construction of community centres and also classrooms for schools in each of the six tsunami-hit villages in Karaikal region.

The member of the Trust, Motilal Vora, MP, signed the document on behalf of the trust while the Additional Secretary to Department of Revenue and Disaster Management G Ragesh Chandra and the PIA Project Director G Theva Needhi Dhas were the other signatories to the MoU.

The document was signed in the presence of the Lieutenant Governor, Lt. Gen. (Retd) M.M. Lakhera, the Chief Minister, N.Rangasamy, the Ministers, A. Namassivayam and E. Valsaraj, V. Narayanasamy, MP, the Chief Secretary. C.S. Khairwal, the Pondicherry PCC president, P. Shanmugham.

Speaking to newsmen after signing the document, Mr Vora said that under the agreement the Trust would provide Rs 5.5 crores for construction of classrooms and community centres in the tsunami-hit villages, Karaikalmedu, Kaalikuppam, Keezhakassakudymedu, Karukalacherry, Vadakkuvanjore and Pattinacherry.

Multi-hazard centres

He said that the Trust would also fund construction of multi-hazard centres in Nagapattinam. Preliminary discussions to finalise the project and also amount for the projects would be held in Chennai on Wednesday.

He said in the third phase, the Trust would arrange for implementation of the projects in Andaman and Nicobar Islands and necessary discussions would be held before finalising the works.

Earlier on his arrival at Pondicherry Mr Motilal Vora was given a rousing reception by the Congress partymen.

The Pondicherry Chief Minister, the Provincial Congress Committee leader, Ministers, legislators and Narayanasamy, MP were among those who received him and accompanied him to Raj Nivas.

An official source said that nearly 10,000 people in the tsunami-hit villages would be benefited by the project.

Long wait

Photographers and presspersons had to wait for a long time outside the chamber of the Lt Governor in Raj Nivas here on Tuesday with the expectation that they would be called into the chamber when Mr. Vora and the officials of the Pondicherry government signed the memorandum of understanding (MoU).

It was however a big disappointment for the photographers who were kept waiting outside and were allowed into the Chamber of the Lt Governor along with reporters only after the agreement was signed.

The reporters and cameramen were told on entering the chamber that there would be a briefing by Mr Vora in another room and the reporters could get full information from him.

The photographers were the worst sufferers as they had waited to take pictures of either the signing of the document by the representative of the Trust and the State government officials or the exchange of documents formally between them.

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