THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The ambitious initiatives and proactive approach of the Thiruvananthapuram district panchayat have won it a national honour.
The civic body, which rolled out enterprising projects like Padheyam, Vidyajyothi, Snehasparsham, Raksha and Green Milk, won the Deen Dayal Upadhyay Panchayat Sashaktikaran Puraskar for the best district panchayat in the state for the overall development works carried out by it. From providing food to people with low or no income to helping girls defend and protect themselves, the projects pioneered by the civic body focus on an array of social issues.
A national-level team visits all eligible civic bodies for verification before the winner is chosen. The district panchayat which also won the state government’s award for the best civic body boasts of landmark projects which have directly benefited thousands.
Snehasparsham
The project gives financial aid to mentally challenged people selected by the civic body. At present, 3,112 people draw a yearly stipend of `28,500.
District panchayat president V K Madhu said “The overall performance of the civic body was evaluated for the award. We have many ambitious projects underway aimed at helping the public. This will prove an inspiration for all. We also have ‘Manasa’ project which provides better toilet facilities for girls in schoola and smart toilet project for improving boys’ toilets. Apart from this, on a cultural angle, we have the Koothambalam project which promotes the traditional art forms.”
The ‘Snehadhara’ project which provides Ayurveda treatment for autistic kids in the district, Grandhapura which helps refurbish the libraries and Vidyajyothi which provides ‘specially modified coursebooks’ for students who face difficulty in learning are also among the projects being implemented by the district panchayat.
Padheyam
The district panchayat provides lunch to 4,996 people under its jurisdiction. The beneficiaries were selected after a survey. In the first phase, the project was carried out in 10 panchayats and it was later extended across the district. It has been running for three years now.
Jalashree
It is a mega project aimed at rejuvenating water bodies. Rain harvesting, well recharging, groundwater recharging projects and cleaning of water bodies are all part of the project.
Green Milk
The district panchayat has two jersey farms. Everyday almost 1,500 litres of milk are sold by the district panchayat, collected from these farms. There is a high demand for their milk.
Raksha
The district panchayat set a Guinness world record when they assembled 6,000 girls at Greenfield Stadium in Karyavattom on the occasion of International Women’s Day as part of the ‘Rakhsa’ project which teaches self-defence. The girls displayed their karate skills on the occasion.