From News Dispaches NEW DELHI: After a hue and cry the Union Home Ministry cancelled a foreign tour of Parliamentarians to study the use of Hindi in Indian missions but it is understood to have approved another trip which will cost the exchequer a cool $250 million (33 crores).
However this time it’s no foreign tour. Its a trip to Kalapani. Nearly one lakh freedom fighters
from all over the country will be taken to the Andaman Nicobar Islands for “darshan” of the land.
The Rs 33 crore scheme has been approved by the Prime Minister Rajiy Gandhi, who is keen to develop the islands where the British built a jail for freedom fighters.
The idea is that a trip by one lakh freedom fighters will also help in developing the islands as a tourist centre.
The scheme was rooted last year by a veteran freedom fighter and former MP Shee Bhadra Yajee. He pleaded with the government that freedom fighters should be shown the place which was so important for the freedom struggle. He said the Nehru birth centenary year would be the best occasion to launch the scheme.
When the Home Ministry worked out the economics it turned out to be a Rs 33 crore extravaganza. The financing wing of the Ministry reportedly expressed some reservations and the freedom fighters felt that taking one lakh freedom fighters to the islands would be an impossible task.
The island administration said it would be difficult to cope with the flow of such a large number of people. It just did not have the required infrastructure.
The Government then decided that freedom fighters should be taken in batches on a first come first served basis. The first batch was flown to Kalapani in April this year. The government had to take them by air as acquiring a ship was not feasible. Moreover due to certain weather conditions ships cannot sail between May and October.
Article extracted from this publication >> June 16, 1989
