By News Agency of Kashmir
Srinagar : Describing Khundroo ammunition depot incident as a human tragedy, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad today warned against drawing political mileage out of it.
The chief minister called for invoking the spirit of post-2005 earthquake when government, opposition and people at large joined hands to meet the calamity.
Replying a discussion on Khundroo in the Legislative Council, here today, the Chief Minister said that the loss of life and property suffered by villagers in and around Khundroo should not be made an issue to score points or take political advantage.
He appealed both ruling and opposition parties to join hands in reaching out to the affected population in their hour of need. He said it was not an issue of any specific political party but a shared concern of all in the state and the country as a whole.
The Chief Minister dismissed alleged laxity on part of the Government in responding to the challenge and gave graphic details of measures taken to deal with the situation immediately after the news of the incident broke.
Giving details of relief provided to victims of the incident, the Chief Minister said that although human life cannot be compensated the state government paid Rs. 1 lakh each to the next of kin of the deceased. Besides, the Defence Ministry paid Rs. 1.5 lakh for each dead person.
He said 17 people were killed in the incident including 14 firemen working with the army, 2 civilians and a soldier.
The Chief minister further added that 6 temporary rehabilitation camps were initially set up of which 5 are still functional. He said 700 tents, 6850 blankets, 70 quintals of ration, 3.5 quintals of sugar, 1000 litres of kerosene oil and 801 quintals of firewood was supplied
to the camp dwellers free of cost. He said officials of revenue, PHE, PWD, health and municipalities were available to attend to their requirement.
The Chief Minister said immediately after the incident occurred he talked with the Prime Minister and sought an appointment to brief him on the incident. He said he had an hour long meeting with Dr. Manmohan Singh during which the fall-out of ammunition depot fire and how to deal with the situation remained in focus.
The PM, he said, assured that the teams would be sent immediately after the area was safe for human movement and assured full support and compensation for the losses. He said a central team was arriving today while another would come here tomorrow to assess the losses and have a meeting with the administration.
He said 68 bomb disposal teams were flown in from various parts of the country to search and defuse live ammunition in the affected area. He said that he talked with the Chief of the Army Staff today and urged him to send a special team to clear paddy fields of unexploded
ammunition before the harvesting season.