VELLORE:As part of the 69th Independence Day celebrations, as many as 465 beneficiaries here were given welfare assistance, to the tune of Rs 8.8 crore, by the district collector Nanthagopal on Saturday.
Seven persons received Chief Minister’s relief assistance and wedding assistance from the department of revenue worth Rs 4.46 lakh while five persons received iron boxes worth Rs 22,745 from the Backward Welfare Office. The Adi-dravida welfare office gave free house Pattas to 17 people, sewing machines to seven persons.
The department of social welfare gave away sewing machines to ten people and girl child assistance worth Rs 1.57 lakh.
Under the women development programme, 21 people received loan assistance to the tune of Rs 70 lakh and under Pudhu Vazhvu Thittam, 380 received the same through the Village Poverty Reduction Committees to the tune of Rs 7.98 crore.
Nine persons received wedding assistance from the ex-servicemen welfare office to the tune of Rs 1.8 lakh and two received scooters from the district differently-abled welfare office. Also, five people received farm inputs from the department of agriculture and two subsidy component of Rs 1.05 lakh from the department of horticulture.
The collector also gave away citations and awards to 76 best performing officials from various departments. Selvi, Vilapakkam town panchayat president, panchayat presidents Dhanajayan (Thiruparkadal), Pandu (Balur) and Krishnamoorthy (Chinnakamiyampattu) also received similar citations.
Over 1,200 Children from various schools performed cultural programmes. Earlier, collector Nanthagopal hoisted the national flag at the Vellore fort and took the guard of honour at the Nethaji Stadium.
He later visited the Melakuppam hill village in Arcot block and presided over the grama sabha meeting.
“The purpose of grama sabha is to ensure transparency in administration while empowering villagers to take decisions in a democratic manner,” he told a large gathering of residents. He said that State government wants individual households to use toilets so as to prevent diseases and promote a healthy way of life. “Health of villagers depended on cleanliness,” he said.