Mandya officials urged to boost minority welfare

Mandya: Karnataka State Minorities Commission chairman U Nisar Ahmed on Tuesday directed officials of the women and child development department to conduct regular inspections and carry out door-to-door awareness campaigns in minority-dominated localities to educate parents on the importance of early childhood education and nutrition.

Expressing concern over children dropping out of anganwadis after initial enrolment, he noted that Mandya district has 64 minority anganwadi centres with 4,326 enrolled children. He directed officials to identify the reasons for dropouts and take corrective measures.

Chairing a district-level progress review meeting at the DC’s office, he stressed the need for effective and timely implementation of the Prime Minister’s New 15-Point Programme aimed at the welfare and comprehensive development of minority communities. He said there should be no negligence in implementing schemes meant for the welfare of minorities, including Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains and Parsis.

Nisar Ahmed also emphasised the need to provide profession-oriented training and vocational skill development programmes for youth, while creating awareness about employment opportunities and govt welfare schemes. He called for wider implementation of the PM SVANidhi micro-credit scheme for street vendors and urged officials to spread awareness among unemployed minority graduates and diploma holders about the Karnataka govt’s Yuva Nidhi scheme.

Lead Bank manager Aruna Kumar informed the meeting that educational loans had been provided to 477 minority beneficiaries in Mandya district. DC Kumara stated that minority welfare schemes were being implemented effectively in the district and instructed education officials to ensure that no child is deprived of schooling. ZP CEO KR Nandini, additional SP Thimmaiah, officials of the minority welfare department and community leaders were present.