Awami League will achieve its goal : Khadilkar
From Our Gouhati Office, July 10.—Mr. R. K. Khadilkar, Union Minister of State for Relief and Rehabilitation, said here today that Bangladesh people had launched their first step towards independence when they voted for the Awami League in December last and he was confident that their present spirit of resistance, if kept alive, would surely achieve the ultimate goal.
Mr. Khadilkar, during his one-day stay here today, visited the evacuee transit camp at Changsari near here and had separate discussions with the Chief Minister and the Relief and Rehabilitation Ministers of Assam and Meghalaya, besides officers. He will be leaving for New Delhi tomorrow morning.
The Central Rehabilitation Minister expressed satisfaction over the arrangements made for the evacuees at the Changsari camp, where more than 6.000 evacuees, transported from Tripura are now sheltered temporarily. They will be removed to a semi-permanent camp at Bahalpur in Goalpara district after the construction work is completed there.
Mr. Khadilkar took keen interest in matters relating to the housing of the evacuees and in spite of torrential rain he walked from shed to shed in the camp and talked to the evacuees.
The State Relief and Rehabilitation Minister. Mr. Jogen Saikal later told reporters that Mr. Khadilkar’s visit was very helpful to the State Government in regard to the evacuee relief. He came with the welcome news that the Centre had presently sanctioned an additional sum of Rs. 40 lakhs towards evacuee relief in the plains of Assam and that another sum of Rs. 50 lakhs was expected to be sanctioned by the end of this month.
According to Mr. Saikia, this was quite encouraging although Assam required an amount of Rs 3,47,000 to meet only the marginal expenses, covering those for construction of temporary and semi permanent sheds.
Mr. Khadilkar the Assam Minister said, also promised that more relief articles and building materials would be sent to Assam shortly.
Mr. Saikia said that no evacuee from the camps in Meghalaya would shifted to the Assam plains, though originally it was stipulated that Assam would receive 25,000 such evacuees. Earlier decision had to be changed, he said, in view of the fact that about 20,000 evacuees had in the meantime entered the Mizo Hills. “To give them shelter even for a temporary period was naturally the responsibility of the Government of Assam.
Moreover, the infiux of evacuees into the Assam plains still continued, he said, roughly at the rate of 1,000 per day. The evacuees, who have already arrived in the Mizo district, would possibly be brought to the camps in Cachar district in the plains.
Reference: Hindustan Standard 11.7.1971