KARUR: In what is touted to be a first of its kind in the State, a special sterilisation camp was organised for men by the Health & Family Welfare department at the Karur GMCH on International Men’s Day.
District Collector Dr. T Prabhushankar inaugurated the camp and distributed awards and incentives to men who took part in the camp and got sterilised. Himself a doctor, the Collector came up with the initiative to attract men towards voluntary sterilisation by announcing cash incentives, the ‘Thanga Thanthai’ award and other benefits.
The contraceptive treatment is performed without a knife, without blood damage, stitches and scarring. This treatment does not cause impotency and there are no side effects. Men who volunteer for the procedure at the camp will be given a special cash incentive of Rs 5,000.
Instead of the cash incentive, one can also opt for other incentives, including free residential Patta, old age pension (OAP) for an elderly family member at home, free cow or goat, livestock shed through MGNREG scheme, bank loan of up to Rs 10 lakh at low-interest rates to start a small or medium business without any securities, provision of micro-irrigation at 100% subsidy to small and marginal farmers through the Agriculture department, and provision of prosthetic limbs or legs for differently-abled persons at cost.
A total of 21 men aged between 25 and 35 years were sterilised at Saturday’s camp. They also opted for government schemes over the cash incentive. Impressed by this, the Collector provided the beneficiaries with the cash incentive as well.