
COIMBATORE: Misguided by officers at the Anaimalai taluk office, a tribal man living in Pollachi travelled for nearly 200 km in two days carrying his 40-year-old sister, who cannot walk due to locomotor disability, to several government hospitals to obtain a disability certificate and get her government aid reinstated. After checking their records, the CMCH dean said the issue should have been solved in Anaimalai itself.
The aid was reinstated on Tuesday. Seven months ago, the differently abled welfare department suspended assistance of Rs 1,500 to K Kittathal, a Malasar tribe who lives in Divansapudur village with her brother K Mani (44), because the officers who conducted a door-to-door verification had recorded that she did not live in the address.
After pursuing the case with local body representatives, Mani approached officers at the Anaimalai taluk office recently. Without checking the facts, the officials told him to get a fresh disability certificate for Kittathal from a government hospital. On Monday, the family went to the Pollachi GH but found out that the post of the doctor who would approve the certificates was vacant. They were directed to go to Coimbatore Medical College Hospital. “On Monday afternoon, we reached CMCH after changing three buses, but the staff told us to come on Tuesday because the board that issues certificates meets only in the morning. We came back on Tuesday,” Mani said.
After learning about their hardship, this reporter took up the issue with CMCH dean Dr A Nirmala. After reviewing their records, she said Kittathal’s existing disability certificate was valid till her life time and she need not get a new certificate. To confirm this, the family was directed to the differently abled welfare department located in the collectorate. There staff reiterated that a new certificate was not required and told them to resolve the matter at the Anaimalai Taluk Office.
When questioned, the special tahsildar (social security scheme) S Alamelumangai said she was unaware who misled them but confirmed that the financial assistance issue has been resolved at the taluk office. “The beneficiary will receive assistance for the month of February in March,” she said. “We advised Kittathal to register for unique disability ID card,” she added.