DMK govt striving to uphold rights of differently abled in education, employment: TN Dy CM
The government under Chief Minister M K Stalin was working on various ways to improve the lives of the differently abled persons, who were examples of self-confidence and perseverance, he said.;
Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin
CHENNAI: The DMK government has been striving hard to uphold the rights of differently abled persons in education, employment and in doling out welfare measures, Tamil Nadu Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin said on Friday.
The government under Chief Minister M K Stalin was working on various ways to improve the lives of the differently abled persons, who were examples of self-confidence and perseverance, he said.
Apart from providing education assistance of Rs 2,000 to Rs 1 lakh to differently abled to pursue school education and higher studies, as well, the government attached great importance to them in sports.
“In particular, we have so far provided up to Rs 5 crore to about 200 differently abled students to participate in sports competitions held abroad through the Tamil Nadu Champions Foundation. Similarly, our government has so far disbursed Rs 25 crore as prize money to 200 athletes who won medals in international and national competitions,” Udhayanidhi said in a statement here.
The CM has provided employment opportunities to differently abled athletes and during last year alone, the government gave jobs to 5 differently abled athletes.
“This time, the Chief Minister has set a target of providing government jobs to 20 differently-abled athletes through the sports department. We will definitely achieve it,” he added.
Earlier, he distributed assistive devices including artificial legs and battery-powered four-wheelers to 300 differently-abled persons under the corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiative of the Chennai Petroleum Corporation Limited and flagged off a modern sewage-powered vehicle worth Rs 1.50 crore.
Speaking at the event, he said the state government bestowed much attention to improve the lot of the differently abled. He recalled that it had recently launched 840 low-floor buses across Tamil Nadu for the benefit of this section.
“Our Dravidian model government is also working in various ways to uphold the rights of differently abled people. The DMK has started a new wing for differently abled persons,” Udhayanidhi said and hailed the differently abled as “examples of self-confidence and perseverance.”