'Won't ask family to return compensation'

Dehradun: Chief minister Harish Rawat on Monday scotched speculations that the state government would take back the compensation amount paid to the family of Leela Kanwar, the victim of the 2013 flash floods, who was found alive by her husband last week in a village in Uttarkashi. Leela's family members were given the Rs 5 lakh compensation after she was first reported as missing and later declared as dead in 2013 December-end.Talking to TOI, the CM said the state government would be asking the family, who hails from Alwar in Rajasthan, to spend the compensation amount on her treatment. Leela was found in a mentally imbalanced state induced presumably by the trauma she underwent during the deluge that left more than 5,000 dead, as per official figures.The chief minister added that Leela’s case raised hopes that more persons, who were missing and declared dead, could also be found. He added that senior officials in the disaster management centres at Dehradun, Rudraprayag, Chamoli and Uttarkashi had been instructed to launch a joint drive to search for more such victims. Piyush Rautela, executive director of the Dehradun-based Disaster Management Centre added that the discovery of Leela, nineteen months after the floods, had motivated people working in the disaster-hit areas to step up their efforts. “Over 3,000 persons who have been missing have been issued death certificates and compensation amounts paid to their families. Almost 1,000 more missing persons have not been declared dead yet. We will be renewing our efforts to trace more missing persons in the months ahead,” he said.