ETV Bharat impact: Uttarakhand govt takes cognizance, receives 1 cr from religious organisation

After ETV Bharat highlighted Uttarakhand govt's inattentive slant to receive Rs 1 crore donation in the wake of COVID-19, Urban Development Minister of Dehradun, Madan Kaushik on Friday reached Shantikunj and received the draft.

Dehradun: Urban Development Minister of Dehradun, Madan Kaushik on Friday received Rs 1 crore donation to the Chief Minister's Relief Fund from Shantikunj after ETV Bharat highlighted the state govt's inattentive slant post donation's announcement by the religious organisation amid COVID-19 outbreak.

Pranab Pandya, head of Shantikunj in Haridwar, conveyed to Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat on March 23 that his institution wanted to donate Rs 1 crore to the Chief Minister's Relief Fund and had urged the Chief Minister to send someone to collect a draft from Shantikunj. But no one from either the district collector’s office or from the state government turned up after the announcement.

Talking to ETV Bharat, Pranav Pandya said that no representative of the government had come to collect the draft. After ETV Bharat prominently covered the story, district administration and the Chief Minister took cognizance of the matter and sent the Urban Development Minister Madan Kaushik to receive the draft.

According to the sources, it is now believed that many other Haridwar-based religious institutions would come forward and make donations to the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund.