The Hindu 03.01.2014
Physically challenged get scooters, sewing machines
Forty scooters, 40 units of hearing aid, four callipers
and as many sewing machines — all purchased at a cost of Rs. 24.73 lakh
from the MLAs’ constituency development fund — was distributed to the
physically challenged at the Collectorate here on Thursday.
Cooperation
Minister ‘Sellur’ K. Raju handed them over to the beneficiaries in the
presence of Collector L. Subramanian and MLAs R. Samy (Melur), A.K. Bose
(Madurai North), R. Annadurai (Madurai South), R. Sundarrajan (Madurai
Central) and P.V. Kathiravan (Usilampatti).
Earlier,
addressing the gathering, the Minister accused the Centre of having
reduced fund allocation to the State from 13.4 per cent to 7.9 per cent
after Chief Minister Jayalalithaa assumed office for the third time in
2011. He claimed that the allocation of kerosene to the State had also
been brought down from 54,000 litres to 34,000 litres a month.
“People
in the State are facing hardships owing to frequent power shutdown even
now owing to lack of support for power projects from the Centre,” he
said.
Mr. Raju traced the history of former Union
Minister and incumbent Member of Parliament M.K. Alagiri’s migration to
Madurai from Chennai and accused him of being in the company of goons
all the time and allowing them to indulge in illegal activities. “Ever
since the AIADMK came to power, have you ever come across even a single
incident of a Minister or any other party cadre having interfered with
the activities of the district administration or the police department,”
he questioned the gathering.
The Collector listed
various welfare measures implemented in the district. He said more than
13,000 physically challenged people in the district had been granted
National Identity Cards and of them 4,711 had been receiving monthly
financial assistance provided by the State government.
Distribution
of hearing aids fixed behind the ears, magnifiers used by the visually
challenged, walking sticks, talking watches and doubling the quantum of
financial assistance provided to physically challenged school students
were the other schemes being implemented by the State, he said.
Mayor V.V. Rajan Chellappa, Deputy Mayor R. Gopalakrishnan and District Differently Abled Welfare Officer K. Sakunthala spoke.
