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Union Minister for Urban Employment and Poverty Alleviation, Kumari Selja today flagged off the Habitat Run-2004 to mark the conclusion of the Habitat Week Celebrations in the capital. Finance Minister in Delhi Government, Dr. A.K. Walia, eminent sports personalities like Zafar Iqbal, Rajinder Singh, Madhumita Bisht, Ashok Kumar, Gursharan Singh Randhawa, Vikram Singh participated in the run organized by the Sports Authority of India. Hundreds of school children wearing colorful shirts with some displaying their skating skills were the main attraction. Dr. Walia administered the Habitat Pledge and appealed to the children to take the lead in conserving their precious habitats.
Speaking on the sidelines after planting tree saplings near the National Stadium, Kumar Selja said that the Government is serious about the sanitation and the health needs in slums and is working on an Urban Slum Renewal programme. She said that the existing infrastructure in cities are inadequate considering the speed of urbanization and the Common Minimum Programme is envisaging expanding the provision of basic minimum facilities in rural areas. The Minister said that we have to live with rural to urban migration as ours is a developing economy and cities provide better marketing prospects.
Among others who attended the function were Secretary, Urban Employment and Poverty Alleviation, Smt. Chitra Chopra, Chairman of HUDCO, Shri P.S. Rana, Chief Secretary of Delhi, Shri Renganathan and other senior officials of Ministry and Sports Authority of India.
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