Victim awaits relief

AMRITSAR, May 20: Mukhtiar Singh, a victim of terrorist violence and a resident of Tarn Taran, is running from pillar to post for reimbursem...

AMRITSAR, May 20: Mukhtiar Singh, a victim of terrorist violence and a resident of Tarn Taran, is running from pillar to post for reimbursement of expenses of his medical treatment for which sanction was given by the state government vide notification issued on November 26, 1996.

Mukhtiar Singh who was attacked by terrorists on August 8, 1990 at Dargapur in Tarn Taran, had suffered 75 per cent disability. During the long treatment in hospital, he had spent about Rs 15 lakh and he claimed to have sold six taxis, eight acres of agriculture land apart from withdrawing Rs 6 lakh from savings account to meet the expenses.

Mukhtiar Singh had remained bed ridden for about three years in the local Guru Tej Bahadur Hospital.From a prosperous transporter, he ended a pauper.He told ENS here today that the Department of Relief and Resettlement of the state government had sanctioned full payment of his hospital expenses which was conveyed to SDM Tarn Taran. He said he had only received Rs 85,000 from state government and had been given a job as a peon in the Social Welfare Department. He is now posted in Fategarh Churian.

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Mukhtiar Singh said he had submitted all his bills to the office of SDM Tarn Taran but to his dismay, his bills were misplaced by the office. He later supplied a certificate of his treatment expenses issued by the civil surgeon of Amritsar.

He was sanctioned a sum of Rs 9,10,000 from the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund on November 20, 1997 but the amount has not yet been paid to him. He is shuttling between the office of the Chief Minister in Chandigarh aand SDM Tarn Taran in vain.

His efforts to approach the Chief Minister personally have been in vain but he is hopeful that Badal, who is camping here for the Tarn Taran Lok Sabha elections, will intervene and help.