Rajdhani & Shatabdi passes for freedom fighters
PTI, PANAJI | 02 February 2010 12:44 IST
Good news for the freedom fighters. They will be now able to travel free also in Rajdhani and Shatabdi express.
Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Ajay Maken announced today in Goa that henceforth freedom fighter railway passes will be honoured in Rajdhani and Shatabdi Express also.
Maken was addressing the first meeting of newly constituted eminent freedom fighters' committee today at the Goa International Centre at Dona Paula near Panaji.
The minister also said that the central government intends to increase medical facilities extended to the freedom fighters.
The minister, however, categorically stated that only genuine freedom fighters should get the facilities and not the fake ones. "To achieve this, freedom fighters' associations should cooperate with the government authorities," he added.
"The eminent freedom fighters' committee has now been widened at all-India level, giving representation to each and every state," the minister informed.
Stating that the ministry is preparing freedom fighters' database, he said that till date 35,000 freedom fighters' bio-datas have been collected.
"This is a huge work and for the posterity, this work has to be completed with the help of freedom fighters only," the minister stated.
Initiating the discussion with the freedom fighters, A K Goel, Joint Secretary of Dept of Home Affairs said that no claims of any freedom fighters are pending. Regarding Goa, most of the freedom fighters' pension cases have been resolved, he added.
Vikram Datta, Secretary to Minister of State for Home Affairs, attended the meeting, which had representative freedom fighters from New Delhi, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Orissa, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Chhatishgarh, Andhra Pradesh, Punjab and Goa.
