PANJIM, SEPT 8
The Goa Pradesh Congress Committee today came to the rescue of Goa Pradesh Youth Congress president Sankalp Amonkar saying the money collected for Canacona Relief Fund is deposited with the party and will be used at an appropriate time.
According to the party the suitable time to spend the money for Canconkar has still not come. Addressing a press conference in the city, Congress Spokesperson N Shivdas refuted allegations by the Nationalist Congress Party that the GPYC had siphoned off the money collected under Canacona Relief Fund.
“The GPYC has handed over Rs 10.38 lakh to the GPCC and we are awaiting for an appropriate time to use the amount which is deposited in the GPCC Disaster Relief Fund account at the Mapusa Urban Co-operative Bank,” he said.
Shivdas further said that the amount of Rs 18 lakh (including eight lakhs collected by GPCC) is safe and not a single pie has been misappropriated. “The allegations are wrong and tonally baseless,” he stated.
Asked why the GPCC took almost a year to spend the money, the spokesperson said, “We are awaiting for an appropriate time.”
“We have come to understand that the government, NGOs as well others have been contributing directly in rehabilitating the victims. So we decided to spend the money at an appropriate time when the victims are rehabilitated,” he said adding “apart from houses people also need other things like educational support and other necessary things in the house so we decided to help them in this way.”
“Between the Ganesh festival and the Diwali we will spend the mount for the benefit of the victims,” he said.
The spokesperson also claimed that the amount collected was not entirely for Canacona flood relief but it was meant for all disasters.
“During Canacona floods we actually felt a need for a relief fund which could benefit people during such calamities and therefore we decided to have a disaster relief fund,” he stated.
