Don’t discriminate among children who have lost parents to pandemic, says Panneerselvam
The Hindu
The AIADMK coordinator said income criteria must not be considered in the cases of these children, when it comes to their benefiting from the scheme announced by the TN government
AIADMK coordinator O. Panneerselvam on Monday urged the State government not to discriminate based on income criteria while extending financial assistance to children, who have lost a parent to COVID-19. All children, who have been orphaned or lost one of their parents to the pandemic should be granted assistance, he said in a statement. Flagging what he called certain “discriminatory” provisions in the operational guidelines issued for implementing the scheme, Mr. Panneerselvam contended that some people suspect that such provisions were intended only to reduce the number of beneficiaries under the scheme.The election authorities are gearing up for the counting of votes cast in the simultaneous elections to Lok Sabha and Assembly seats in Andhra Pradesh, scheduled to be held on June 4. The Collectors and Election Officers of Visakhapatnam, Anakapalli and Alluri Sitharama Raju (ASR) districts said on May 23 (Thursday) that their teams were ready for the counting of votes.
Responding to the prolonged water scarcity, the residents of the area took to the streets in protest on Wednesday. The protest, which drew attention to their plight, stopped only after the intervention of the police. It was not until 1.30 p.m. that a 4000-litre tanker was finally delivered by BWSSB, providing relief to the water-starved residents.