The Hindu 14.03.2011
Corporation doles out aid to women’s groups
International Women’s Day celebrations organised on a grand scale by VMC
One for the album: Prominent women of Vijayawada who were felicitated by
the municipal corporation in Vijayawada on Sunday. — PHOTO: CH.VIJAYA
BHASKAR
The Makineni Basava Punnaiah mini stadium in Singhnagar bustled with
activity on Sunday. A steady stream of people poured in from all
directions to be part of the International Women’s Day celebrations
organised on a grand scale by the Vijayawada Municipal Corporation.
The corporation doled out aid, in cash and other forms
of assistance worth Rs. 15.51 crore to a total number of 10,970
beneficiaries under various welfare schemes.
Minister for Secondary Education Kolusu Parthasaradhy
utilised the occasion to assert the Congress Government’s stand on the
issue of woman welfare. He said allegations surfacing from certain
quarters that the State was trying to dilute the welfare schemes
introduced by the former chief minister, the late Y. S. Rajasekhara
Reddy, were baseless. Reiterating that the ultimate aim of the Congress
Government was to empower women in all spheres, he sought to
substantiate the claim by pointing to the fact that the Rs. 215 crore
released for self-help groups in 2008-09 under the paavala vaddi scheme
had been enhanced to Rs. 450 crore this year. Stating that the Krishna
district alone had bagged funds to the tune of Rs. 18.5 crore, the
Minister said the Congress under able leadership of Sonia Gandhi at the
Centre would always give priority to welfare of the masses.
Mr. Parthasaradhy also complimented the corporation authorities for making apt use of the occasion of Women’s Day.
Vijayawada Central MLA Malladi Vishnu said it was the
right occasion to pay glowing tributes to the former chief minister Y.S.
Rajasekhara Reddy who had introduced a slue of welfare schemes for
women. He said the fact that the country had a woman President and the
State had a woman Home Minister and a number of others occupying key
posts in different walks of life, only goes to prove that women
empowerment was among top priorities of the ruling parties.
The corporation also felicitated 25 women from various walks of life for their achievement in their respective fields.
Later, certificates of placement linked training
programmes were given to 500 self-help group members, besides release of
funds for beneficiaries of
Swarna Jayanthi Shahari Rozgar Yojana (SJSRY), Deepam
scheme, Indira Kranthi Padhakam, Dwcra group members and street hawkers
of Besant Road.
Municipal Commissioner G. Ravibabu, former Mayors M.V.
Ratna Bindu, Tadi Sakuntala and Mallika Begum and others were on the
dais.