Agartala: Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha on Friday said Union Home Minister Amit Shah has asked him to send the final report on the damage due to the devastating flood in the state.
Shah made the request to the chief minister during a telephone talk on the flood that left 36 people dead and over one lakh people homeless between August 19 and 23. The development came days after former CM Manik Sarkar urged Saha to send an all-party team to Delhi to put pressure on the Centre for speedy release of funds for rebuilding the flood-battered state.
Saha said there is no need to send such a team since "we have a guardian like Prime Minister (Narendra Modi) under whose guidance we are working. Today, I spoke with Union Home Minister Amit Shah who told me to send the final report on damage at the earliest for releasing funds from the Centre". The chief minister was addressing a gathering on the occasion of the oath-taking of newly-elected 17 members of South Tripura Zilla Parishad at Belonia in South Tripura district.
Saha said officials have also gone to Delhi to submit the final report in a specific format as sought by the Ministry of Home Affairs. "As an immediate measure, the government has declared a special package of Rs 564 crore from the state's own budget to rebuild the damage caused by the flood. All secretary-level officials were asked to visit spots to speed up restoration work and to ensure proper utilization of funds," he said.
Claiming that the state has set an example in managing unprecedented floods, the chief minister said the Centre has extended prompt support to the state during the difficult times. "The state has immensely benefited from having a double-engine government during the flood. The Centre had sent helicopters, rubber boats and NDRF to handle the flood situation effectively," he said.
Saha also urged the newly elected members of the Panchayat body to serve the people maintaining the highest level of integrity and transparency. "We have seen many things in 35 years of Communist regime and five years of Congress-TUJS rule in the name of development. It is the BJP-led government which brought full transparency in governance. We are duty bound to the ways shown by Prime Minister Narendra Modi," he said.
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