Search the Internet          Tips

Quake fallout: Special Parliament session cancelled

Tara Shankar Sahay in New Delhi

Saturday's special session of Parliament has been cancelled on account of the earthquake in Gujarat. The session was meant to mark the conclusion of the year-long celebration of the Republic's 50th anniversary.

Speaking to reporters after the Union Cabinet had an hour-long emergency meeting, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pramod Mahajan pointed out that the Cabinet had expressed its anguish at the loss of lives in Friday morning's earthquake. The minister pointed out that the death toll in Gujarat could rise considerably.

The Cabinet requested Lok Sabha Speaker G M C Balayogi to cancel the special session. The President was slated to address both Houses of Parliament.

"With this kind of devastation the Cabinet felt the government should concentrate on giving relief, food, medical assistance and shelter to the victims. That is why we unanimously felt the honourable Speaker should cancel the celebrations," Mahajan said.

The minister said Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee has not cancelled any of his engagements and will travel to Gwalior on Saturday to attend Rajmata Vijayaraje Scindia's funeral .

RELATED REPORTS:

Quake's epicentre is near Bhuj, Gujarat
Four killed as quake rocks Pakistan
Quake damages historic monuments in Rajasthan
'If the building fell, I wanted all of us to die together...'
Jamnagar, Jodia, Bet, Surat swing from celebrations to mourning in seconds
'Republic Day quake is more severe than Latur's'
Special Cabinet meeting to discuss quake
Despatches from Gujarat: 'We saw death'
RAF called out in Ahmedabad, toll 434
Advani rushes to Ahmedabad: PTI
Friday's quake biggest in the last 50 years
Air force, army pressed into relief work

EXTERNAL LINKS
The RD Killer Quake of Jan 26, 2001: Technical details
A post-quake volunteer's unusual tryst with the departed
All about earthquakes in India and their impact
India Meteorological Department's earthquake reports
Disaster relief set-up in India
Major earthquakes across the world in recent times
Earthquake News: Web site offering comprehensive news, information and features
Earthquake site map

Back to top

Tell us what you think of this report