Date:12/11/2007 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2007/11/12/stories/2007111255700300.htm

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Andhra Pradesh

Educate the girl child, minorities told

Staff Reporter

Distribution of assets, education loans and incentive scholarships marks Minorities Day

A 100-bedded hospital to be constructed in Zaheerabad
Minority women asked to form self help groups to avail benefits

Focussed: Students at a training camp organised by Siasat on Call centre operations in Sangareddy.

SANGAREDDY: Minister for Cooperation, Mohammad Fariduddin called upon the minorities to educate the girl child for over all development of the communities.

Addressing the asset distribution programme on the occasion of Minorities Day on Sunday at the Latif Khan minority marriage hall in Zaheerabad the Minister said that the State Government increased the budget allocation for minorities from Rs. 36 crore to Rs.123 crore after taking over the reigns from Telugu Desam Government.

Enlisting various programmes taken up by the Government for the uplift of the minorities, Fariduddin said that Rs. 33 crore was released for scholarships to minority students.

He said that 16 post-matric and 12 pre-matric hostels and 16 residential hostels for minority students were established. The Minister announced construction of a 100-bedded hospital for Zaheerabad and said that survey to identify suitable land for the hospital was going on.

Joint Collector Ramshankar Naik wanted the minority women to organize themselves into self help groups and save money. Zilla Parishad chairman M. Balaiah also spoke.

Earlier the Minister distributed assets worth Rs. 50 lakh to 1,018 beneficiaries. More than 300 women received sewing machines provided by the DRDA.

BPO training

The management of Siasat Urdu daily has also launched a 17 week BPO and Call centre training programme for minority youth here. In all 734 students will receive training from faculty hailing from the USA. Munnavar Jana, Haffanuddin and Taher Faraz have been teaching the essentials in communications and language skills to the minority students. The classes are conducted from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. every Sunday.

Adilabad staff reporter adds: Collector Ahmad Nadeem on Sunday exhorted women from minority communities to get enrolled as members of self help groups (SHG) in order to benefit from Government schemes. He said SHG members could avail loans on easy terms for various types of activities.

Mr. Nadeem distributed assets and cheques along with Adilabad MLA C. Ramchander Reddy to beneficiaries from minority community on the occasion of the 119th birth anniversary of India’s first Education Minister Moulana Abul Kalam Azad.

Executive director of Minorities Welfare Corporation M.A. Rasheed also participated.

Twenty nine beneficiaries were handed over autos, sewing machines and cycles under the Minority Welfare Department’s bankable scheme. These were worth Rs. 10 lakhs. Similarly, micro credit to 14 SHGs amounting to Rs. 7.15 lakh, education loans to 24 students amounting to Rs. 8.67 lakhs were given away.

These apart cheques worth Rs. 42,000 were handed over to10 seventh standard students towards incentive scholarships.