U'khand minister warns against corruption in relief work

Dehradun, Jul 12: Uttarakhand Disaster Management Minister Yashpal Arya ton Friday said that he had received complaints of slip-shod handling of relief material distribution by some officials and warned that strict action would be taken if the allegations were found true.

"No laxity in distribution of relief among people hit by the recent calamity will be tolerated and strict action will be taken against guilty officials," Arya told reporters, after visiting the affected areas of Rudraprayag and Chamoli districts.

Arya, who is also the Pradesh Congress Committee chief, interacted with villagers in these districts and said he had received complaints of slip-shod handling of relief distribution exercise by some officials. He said the calamity-affected victims should be treated with utmost compassion and sensitivity in this hour of crisis.

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court has asked NDMA to provide a status report of the rescue operations in Uttarakhand. "NDMA has to file an affidavit on the status of rescue operations within two weeks," a SC bench, headed by Justice A K Patnaik said.

PTI