KARUR: Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay on Friday handed over appointment orders for government jobs on compassionate grounds to 31 family members of the 41 people killed in the Karur stampede.
He also granted a solatium of Rs 10 lakh to a woman beneficiary (K Shanthi from Erode) at a function held in Karur.
The appointments include the posts of junior assistant and office assistant in the school education, rural development, revenue, and police departments. The beneficiaries, including 18 women, have been posted in their respective districts, including Karur, Dindigul, Erode, Salem and Tiruppur.
Two family members had crossed the eligible age limit for compassionate appointments, two had declined the offer, and two were already employed in government service, officials said.
Shanthi was given the solatium because neither she nor her husband was eligible for government job in terms of their age. She lost her 18-year-old son in the stampede.
The beneficiaries expressed gratitude, saying the government jobs would help them rebuild their lives after the tragedy.
V Sangavi, of Thanthonimalai in Karur, who lost her husband in the tragedy, said, “He (Vijay) became emotional and was in tears.” She was appointed as junior assistant in the school education department in Karur. “After my husband’s death, I struggled to raise my two-year-old son. This job has given me a new lease of life,” she said.
A Jothi from Salem, who lost her husband Anand in the stampede, was appointed as night watchwoman at the tribal residential high school in Adimalaiputhur, Salem district.
“This job will give me strength to move forward in life,” she said.
Speaking to reporters at the collectorate after the function, Karur Lok Sabha member S Jothimani defended the government’s decision to provide jobs to the families.