They donated Rs 1,11,000 to Kargil fund, but got Rs 44, 000 receipt

They donated Rs 1,11,000 to Kargil fund, but got Rs 44, 000 receipt
SREELATHA MENON

NEW DELHI, JULY 21: Ten tourist bus operators based in Sri Ganganagar in Rajasthan had together donated Rs 1,11,000 to the PM's relief fund for the Kargil war heroes. That was on July 29, 1999. But today, a year later, they are regretting their patriotic impulse.

The reason is that so far they have received a receipt only for Rs 44,000. As for the rest of the amount, it has disappeared without a trace and worse still with no one interested in tracing it.

The ten operators who are represented by an umbrella body called the Sri Ganganagar Tourist Bus Operators Association were approached for the money by the District transport Officer Madan Lal Meena, says STO Association spokesman Pawan Kumar Kataria. Meena had said that his office has been asked by the District Collector to raise fund for Kargil relief, says Kataria.

``This was in July 1999. He had asked for five lakhs from all of us. We said we could not raise such a huge amount and gave him a total of Rs 1,11,000 in cash on July 29. When we demanded a receipt, he said that the amount will be deposited with the collector and you will be photographed with him and on the same day you will receive the receipt.''

But that never happened. When they felt that the DTO was dilly dallying, the operators met the collector in October who denied that he had ever asked anyone to collect money for Kargil.

The operators raised this matter in the local media and the collector subsequently ordered an inquiry. The DTO produced a receipt for Rs 44,000 deposited in the name of Kargil Relief Fund and dated on October 27, three months after the donation was made. When asked about the remaining amount, he said he was not aware of it, says Kataria.

The DTO Meena has been transferred to Jaipur as DTO and so far authorities have turned a deaf ear to demands of the association to ensure that the rest of the donation would also be traced and sent to the Kargil Fund and action be taken against all the alleged culprits involved in pocketing the money.

``We have met the Chief Minister, the Transport Minister and the Transport Commissioner several times. They have washed their hands of this and want us to take up the matter with the PM's office,'' the bus operators say.

But even the PM's office has not acknowledged a single letter they have sent them, they say.

Sri Ganganagar District Collector K N Gupta had admitted last year that the district transport officer had unlawfully kept Rs 44,000 in his possession for four months till he was forced to deposit it. He was away in his village Kherla today when he was approached for comments. Meanwhile, the donors are still knocking on the doors of the Prime Minister's Office, wondering who would ever donate money in future if the Government shows such disinterest in an incident like this.