Source: Hueiyen News Service
Imphal, December 17 2008:
COMPENSATIONS TO the victims of Ragailong bomb blast of October last released from the Prime Minister's National Relief Fund through a local Joint Action Committee (JAC) have been distributed today to the families of the victims even though the victims are yet to get any relief from the state government.
Compensation amounting to Rs.1 lakh each was given to the families of the victims who lost their life while wounded persons in the tragic incident got Rs.50,000 each.
A total of 16 families who lost their sons and 29 injured persons got the relief compensation, who, according to the JAC, were the beneficiaries of the first phase.
Remaining victims including two who lost life in the blast and eight wounded persons will get the compensations in the second phase, said Biken, the spokesperson of the JAC Against the Bomb Blast at a Place Between AR Transit Camp and Commando Complex at Ragailong Gate, Imphal said to the reporters.
"Due to delay in the submission of the required documents for claiming compensations, authority is yet to release the funds for the remaining victims," he said adding that family of one of the victim family had not submitted the documents stating they would do the process at their own expenses.With one more seriously wounded person died later in November after a long struggle for life in a private hospital, the blast near the gate of Ragailong village on the night of October 21 claim 18 life and wounded to 37 people.
Militants group KCP(MC) led by Lanheiba had owned the blast.
State government is yet to pay out the promised relief to the blast victims till now, lamented the spokesperson while strongly condemned the government on the delay of providing the relief to the victims.
He also said that the children of the victims who lost their life in the blast will also get free education till they attend 12-year of age under the Initiative To Educate Rehabilitate and Assist Child victims of Terrorism (INTERACT) was launched in 1993 to help the children who are victims of terrorism under the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation.
The aim of this project is to reduce the burden on the surviving parent or relatives who are looking after the children.
As on June 30, 2008, 9535 children were getting assistance in nineteen states and a union territory.
Out of these, 2492 children earn their livelihood on their own on the basis of assistance provided by the Foundation.
A sum of Rs.4.98 crore was released as assistance to these children during 2007-08.Rs.24.80 crore has been paid as assistance upto 30.06.2008, according to the latest report of the foundation.