Kolkata families of kashmir attack victims receive financial aid from state ministers

Kolkata: Mayor Firhad Hakim and state power minister Aroop Biswas handed over financial aid to the families of two Kashmir terrorist attack victims, Samir Guha and Bitan Adhikari, at their houses in the city on Tuesday.As per chief minister Mamata Banerjee's announcement, Hakim and Biswas handed over a Rs 10 lakh cheque to Guha's wife at Behala Sakherbazar, while Adhikari's wife received a Rs 5 lakh cheque at her Baisnabghata residence. They also visited Adhikari's parents at Sakherbazar in Behala and gave them another Rs 5 lakh cheque.Mayor Hakim said, "We stand by the grieving families. I hope the central govt will respond appropriately to this attack." Biswas also assured the bereaved families that the state would always lend a helping hand in their time of need.Talking to TOI, Sabari Guha, the wife of Samir, stated that the two state ministers stayed at the Behala residence for around 30 minutes. "They told us that while they met us on the day Samir was brought back to Kolkata in a coffin, they could not speak to us. They enquired about the state of my family and daughter. They also handed us the cheque," said Sabari.Sabari earlier stated that they already received Rs 10 lakh each from the Centre. At the Vaishali Park apartment where the parents of Guha reside - Bireshwar Adhikary (87) and his wife Maya Adhikary (75) – there was some solace that Rs 5 lakh was granted to them. "Both of us depended on our son Bitan. This will be helpful for our day-to-day expenses after local MLA Ratna Chattopadhyay stated that she will arrange for our medicines," said Maya.Last Saturday, the CM announced at Nabanna that a one-time financial aid of Rs 10 lakh would be given to the families of the three Bengalis killed in the terrorist attack at Pahalgam. As Adhikari's parents are in a dire financial condition, the CM also stated that the govt would set up a pension fund in the name of the victim's father, providing Rs 10,000 per month. Additionally, the administration is arranging a 'Swasthya Sathi' card for Adhikari's mother.Among the three terrorist attack victims from Bengal, Adhikari and Guha were from Kolkata, while Manish Ranjan Mishra, an IB officer, was from Purulia. Financial assistance has also been announced for Mishra's family. MSID:: 120935606 413 |