Adequate relief for Pune landslide victims sought

NEW DELHI: Several issues ranging from adequate relief to landslide victims in Pune district to efforts for release of an Indian Christian priest abducted in Afghanistan and creation of a separate Poorvanchal state were raised in the Lok Sabha today.

Vinayak Raut (Shiv Sena) pleaded for appropriate relief to the victims of the landslide and preventive measures to avert recurrence of such devastation in the Western Ghats.

AIADMK member P R Senthilnathan wanted the government to take steps to ensure early return of an Indian Jesuit priest working in western Herat province of Afghanistan, who was abducted in May.

BJP member Chhedi Paswan demanded creation of separate state of Poorvanchal, consisting of some districts of eastern Uttar Pradesh and Bihar and "dominated" by Bhojpuri-speaking people.

Boora Narsaiah Goud (TRS) emphasised the need to give more teeth to the National Commission for Backward Classes by giving it constitutional status to ensure fair deal to the backwards who, he said, constituted more than half the population of the country.

Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury (Cong) sought an action plan to take care of the abandoned railway quarters and properties, which he alleged have become dens of all kinds of criminal activities.

BJP member Nalin Kumar Kateel asked the government to "drop the idea" of going ahead with three super thermal power plants in Dakshin Kannada, saying agitations were going on against the projects which would deplete water reserves and affect farming in large tracts of fertile land.

His party colleague Om Birla wanted government to have test centres for engineering and medical admissions in Kota where thousands of students come regularly for coaching.

Darshana Vikram Jardosh (BJP) sought creation of special notified zones for diamond polishing, saying laws and regulations were discouraging raw diamond being sent to India for polishing.

Taxation and legal issues were forcing the global diamond business to send raw diamonds to Israel and Brazil, instead of India, she said.

Jardosh also raised the issue of air connectivity to Surat, which is considered to be the hub of country's diamond trade.

Another BJP member Rakesh Singh wanted the government to release commemorative coins on the historic Golden Temple, saying this was a sensitive issue for the Sikh community.

Trinamool Congress member Tapas Mandal wanted construction of cold storage facilities in Bardhaman district of West Bengal, from where onions are sent to Nashik for preservation.

AIADMK member B Senguttuvan wanted construction of underpasses at busy road crossings to prevent "growing" cases of accidents.