Group shares medical burden of poor

A group of dedicated like-minded people in two villages in Dakshina Kannada has come together sponsoring a poor family each every month by paying ₹ 5,000 to meet their medical expenses. Under the bann

A group of dedicated like-minded people in two villages in Dakshina Kannada has come together sponsoring a poor family each every month by paying ₹ 5,000 to meet their medical expenses. Under the banner Kittura Chennamma Seva Samithi, it contributes ₹30 to ₹ 50 every week for the purpose. The fund collected is deposited in a bank account of the samithi. The members collectively identify a poor family in dire straits before handing over the money. P. Dharanendra Kumar, a member of Dakshina Kannada Zilla Panchayat, who is the brain behind the initiative, told The Hindu that initially members thought that the money should be given only to pregnant women from economically weaker sections to bear their delivery expenses. But as it is difficult to get such beneficiaries every month, the members decided to select a poor family in need of help instead.