Once bootleggers, now milkmen
Fifty reformed bootleggers belonging to Wallajah PEW division received milch cows worth Rs 15 lakh from the Minister for Backward and Minorities Welfare, Mohammed John, at a function held at the Government Veterinary Hospital campus at Ranipet on Saturday.
The beneficiaries hailed from the two taluks of Arcot and Wallajah. Of the 16 from Arcot taluk, six of them belonged to backward communities, four to most backward and six to scheduled castes. Of the 34 from the Wallajah taluk, 12 belonged to backward, 13 to most backward and 9 to scheduled castes. All of them received milch cows, each worth Rs 30,000.
“Your reformation from illicit alcohol not only helped the society at large but also your family and children,” the minister told the beneficiaries. He advised them to make use of the cows and earn a decent living to “regain your lost respect in the society”.
District Collector Sankar presided over the function. Assistant Commissioner of Excise T Natarajan, Superintendent of Police Eswaran and regional joint director of animal husbandry Dr Kamalanathan were among those present on the occasion.
Marriage aid
In a bid to ensure that financially insecure families are capable of purchasing gold for the marriage of their wards, the CM has introduced the marriage assistance scheme with two components, cash and 4 gm of gold for thali, said Health Minister K C Veeramani.
He distributed marriage assistance to the tune of Rs 4.14 crore to 1,012 beneficiaries from eight blocks -- Vellore, Anaicut, Kaniyambadi, Madanur, Katpadi, Gudiyattam, K V Kuppam and Pernambut, on Saturday at a function held here. The assistance included Rs 3.01 crore in cheque and Rs 1.13 crore worth of gold.
Besides, 818 beneficiaries, who have a minimum qualification up to plus two, received a cash assistance of Rs 25,000 each, a total of Rs 2.04 crore.
Another 194 persons with graduates received Rs 50,000 each, a total of Rs 97 lakh. “The aim is to motivate girls to pursue higher education so that they can receive better marriage assistance,” the minister said.
Minister Mohammed John wanted the beneficiaries to understand that all the schemes devised by the CM were for the benefit of the people.