More than 300 persons, including pregnant women, who had turned up to receive financial assistance under the ‘Thalikku Thangam’ scheme on Monday, had to return disappointed after they found that the function was postponed.
As many as 2,086 women residing in the Madurai Corporation limits and 905 residing in other parts of the district should have received the assistance at the event scheduled to be held at Raja Muthiah Mandram.
The event was postponed as Minister for Social Welfare P. Valarmathi and Minister for Cooperation Sellur K. Raju had to be in Chennai for a meeting. However, a section of women, who did not have any information on the postponement, waited from as early as 7 a.m. They were shocked to find no signs of the event.
Corporation officials and those at the venue later put up a notice stating that the event had been postponed.
“We were not informed of it in advance and had come here to participate in the event. Our ration cards have already been sealed stating that we are beneficiaries of the scheme. We are doubtful of the financial assistance reaching us at a later date,” a woman who had come with her baby, said.
AppealThe women appealed to the officials to issue separate tokens to make it clear that they were eligible to receive the assistance at a later date.
They waited on the premises for more than two hours asking about the disbursal of assistance.
When corporation officials told them that the function would be held on December 30 and they would get the assistance along with 2,000 others, they dispersed.
“We had sent information through officials of the Social Welfare Department about the postponement of the event, but a few beneficiaries living away from the city might have not received it,” the officials also said.
