The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh / Hyderabad News : MP's gesture to tribal girls

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Friday, Aug 12, 2005

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad

MP's gesture to tribal girls

Special Correspondent

Donates for `Giri Unnati Vidya' scheme

HYDERABAD: Jairam Ramesh, Rajya Sabha member, has decided to donate Rs. 15,000 he receives every month as "security and car allowance" towards seed money for launching "Giri Unnati Vidya" programme that would support at least 30 tribal girls in pursuing higher education. "This is a small step and I hope fund will attract more contributions," he wrote to Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy. The allowance is given by the Government to MPs representing the State. He urged the Chief Minister to launch the programme on September 5, the birth anniversary of the former President, Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan.

He said in the course of his travels to Adilabad, Warangal and Khammam in connection with Giripragathi, his MPLADS initiative for tribal development, he found a large unmet need for higher education amongst aboriginal tribal girls.

"I have met numerous girls who have discontinued after successfully completing Class X/Intermediate/Ist year for want of adequate and timely financial support and proper counselling on a continuous basis," he said.

The idea was to create a fund which would provide to tribal girls wishing to pursue courses, he added. Mr. Ramesh said he was inspired by a project launched by Manohar Prasad in Marlawei village in Adilabad in association with Velugu, now renamed as Indira Kranthi Patham (IKP).

The identification of the girls could be done by the Mandal Samakhyas in Indervelly, Jainoor and Sirpur-U (Adilabad), Kothaguda and Gudur (Warangal) and Kunavaram, Chintur and VR Puram (Khammam).

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