Gehlot flags off fodder trucks

By Our Special Correspondent

JAIPUR, MAY 18. The Rajasthan Chief Minister, Mr. Ashok Gehlot, said today that the State would try to take up works of permanent nature in the current drought relief operations. ``We want to seize this opportunity for development of the State,'' he said. Mr. Gehlot was speaking at the Pink City Press Club here after flagging of trucks carrying fodder worth Rs. 11 lakhs to the worst-affected district of Barmer and Jodhpur.

The fodder has been arranged by the Lupin Human Welfare and Research Foundation and the Lohagarh Vikas Parishad, Bharatpur. The Rajasthan Automobile Dealers Association and Jaipur Truck Operators Association have volunteered to transport it to the western Rajasthan districts.

The former Chief Minister, Mr. Jagannath Pahadia, the Energy Minister, Dr. Chandra Bhan, the Agriculture Minister, Chowdhury Tayyab Hussain, the PW Minister, Mr. Harendra Mirdha, the Commissioner for the Handicapped, Mr. Damodar Thanvi and the Chairman, Rajasthan Minorities Commission, Dr. Nizam Mohammed were present at the flagging off function.

Mr. Gehlot said the Rs. 144 crore loan taken from NABARD by the State would be utilised for creation of permanent assets in the drought affected areas. The NABARD fund would be used for material components in the construction of 2,000 water conservation structures, 5,000 km of roads and building of 2000 Rajiv Gandhi Golden Jubilee Patshalas. The labour component would be under drought relief.

The Chief Minister emphasised the need to solve the water scarcity with conservation methods. The State had few perennial sources of surface water like the Chambal and the Indira Gandhi Canal. Under the given conditions it required to concentrate on rain water harvesting methods. ``We have to keep the water in the villages from flowing out or getting evaporated,'' he said. Mr. Gehlot said that the State would try to emulate the conservation methods applied by Anna Hazare in Ralgaon Ziddi which he had visited sometime ago. A team of five officers from the State was in Ralgaon Ziddi studying the scope of adopting the experiment in Rajasthan, he said.

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