Date:21/12/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/12/21/stories/2008122157640800.htm

Tamil Nadu

Collector appeals to transgenders to take up self-employment

Staff Reporter

This will help them enhance their socio-economic status

nice: Reeta Harish Thakkar, Collector, addressing a meeting of transgenders in Pudukottai on Saturday.

PUDUKOTTAI: Transgender should take up self-employment vocations for enhancing their socio-economic status, the Collector Reeta Harish Thakkar, said.

Presiding over the ‘Transgender welfare monitoring committee’ meeting held here on Saturday, the Collector listed out various fields in which the transgender could avail themselves of maximum benefit.

The possibility of forming self-help groups should also be explored. She assured them that the district administration would extend all assistance to them, if they came forward to take up self-employment programmes.

She said that the meeting was aimed at addressing the issues concerning the transgender and exploring the possibility of providing maximum assistance to them. The agenda of the meeting, among other things, included the issue of identity and voter cards; provision of credit linkage through formation of self-help groups for taking up self-employment; organising special health care camps for screening the transgender for ENT and common ailments such as blood-pressure.

The Chief Educational Officer S. Chellam; the Deputy Director of Health, M. Chandramohan; the District Social Welfare Officer, A. Azhaguselvi and the president of the Transgender Welfare Association M. Shajahan were among those who spoke.