The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Tiruchi News : Coop Dept. plays a Good Samaritan

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Apr 29, 2005

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Tiruchi

Coop Dept. plays a Good Samaritan

Special Correspondent

TIRUCHI: For the first time, the Cooperatives Department has come forward to help the physically challenged for their rehabilitation and parents of child labourers for a decent livelihood.

The Tiruchi Urban Cooperative Bank (TUCB) and the Varaganeri Cooperative Bank recently sanctioned loans to four physically challenged women.

The TUCB had also disbursed loans to parents of nine children who were rescued from their workplaces and admitted to the special schools run by the Child Labour Elimination and Effective Rehabilitation Society (CHEERS) under the National Child Labour Project (NCLP).

Financial assistance extended by the banks played a vital role in the rehabilitation of the physically challenged belonging to the weaker sections. It was at the instance of the National Handicapped Development Finance Corporation (NHDFC) that the cooperative banks volunteered to lend a helping hand to less privileged sections.

The office of the District Disabled Rehabilitation Officer (DDRO) played a key role in the identification of the beneficiaries.

According to the DDRO, A. Joseph Xavier, the names of 10 physically challenged were recommended for the credit facility and the Tiruchi Urban Cooperative Bank and the Varaganeri Cooperative Bank in the first phase sanctioned loans to the tune of Rs. 3,000 each to V. Rengu and Fairoz and Rs. 5,000 to Fathima Bibi, for running petty shops and another Rs.3,000 to J. Palaniammal for opening a fruit stall.

The Department would recommend more candidates to get loans in future also, he added.

The families with child labourers suffered financial setback, when the employed children were withdrawn from the workplaces and put in NCLP special schools. To compensate the revenue loss in such cases, the CHEERS took the initiative for the provision of loans for the parents to ensure economic stability and also to prevent dropouts from special schools.

The Project Director of the CHEERS, Jaisee Suwetha, said the Tiruchi urban bank provided loan to the tune of Rs.27,000 to nine parents, a majority of them quarry workers.

While many persons preferred to run petty shops in their respective localities, one had set up a mutton stall and another utilised the amount for purchase of a grinder.

The continuance of the children at the schools was one of the eligibility criteria for the credit scheme. "Thus we ensured economic activity by the parents and academic elevation for the children".

The CHEERS has identified 30 more parents for similar loan assistance and has recommended their names to the bank. It has also been planned to provide similar assistance to 1,000 more during the current year, she added. Support from the bank was overflowing thanks to the initiative by the Deputy Registrar of Cooperatives, C. Ravichandran, who introduced the concept in the cooperative sector.

Realising the economic backwardness of the borrowers, the bank has fixed a lenient repayment schedule.

Speaking at a function organised to distribute the cheques here recently, Mr. Ravichandran assured the bank would extend credit facility to more physically challenged and also to the parents of child labourers.

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