Agencies

New Delhi, February 11:

Aam Aadmi Party Member Sanjay Singh on Thursday demanded upping compensation to kins of Uttarakhand disaster victims to Rs 25 lakh from Rs 4 lakh announced by the government.

Raising the issue in the Rajya Sabha during ‘Zero Hour’, Mr Singh said the financial assistance of Rs four lakh to the kin of the deceased is too less. The Centre and state jointly raise it to Rs 25 lakh.
Appreciating the efforts made by the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and other stakeholders in saving people, Mr Singh urged the Government to speed up the rescue operation in the Tapovan tunnel, adding that around 170 people are still missing.

CPI- M lawmaker Elamalal Kareem raised the issue of objections to the restriction on construction work near military establishments in Kerala.

There are 193 stations where a ‘No Objection Certificate’ has been required to construct anything within 100 metres. “Kozhikode military station in Kerala was not included in the list, and yet no construction has been permitted there,” he said.

Ms Sampatiya Uike of BJP raised a demand for protection of Gondi language spoken by lakhs of tribals in many states of the country and sought government protection to prevent it from getting extinct.