The government allocated ₹148.65 crore for Jagjivan Jyothi scheme in the State and supplying 75 units of free power to the families in SC and ST colonies, Deputy Chief Minister K.E. Krishnamurthy said on Thursday.
Speaking after cutting a cake during Jagjivan Ram’s 111th jayanthi celebrations at the Five Roads junction here, Mr. Krishnamurthy said the assistance under the Ambedkar Overseas Education scheme had been enhanced from ₹10 lakh to ₹15 lakh. Jagjivan Ram Smrithi Vanam would be built at Amaravati with his statue with an outlay of ₹10 crore, he added.
An SC study centre had been proposed at Amaravati. A proposal to give two more LED bulbs to SC families was under consideration, he said.
Collector S. Satyanarayana said Jagjivan Ram, born in a remote village in Bihar, strived to safeguard democratic values and increase productivity. A ₹237-crore action plan had been formulated to extend interest-free loans to all SC and ST groups. He promised allotment of land for Jagjivan Ram Bhavan in Kurnool.
The meeting observed two minutes silence in memory of 11 persons who died in the aftermath of the recent Supreme Court order.
Pattadar passbooks and bank linkage loans of ₹36 crore were disbursed to beneficiaries under the Land Purchase Scheme.
Earlier, Mr. Krishnamurthy and Mr. Satyanarayana garlanded the Jagjivan Ram statue.
Joint Collector V. Prasanna Venkatesh, Joint Collector II S. Ramaswamy, Additional SP Shaik Shavali, former MLA M. Sudhakar Babu, TDP leaders M. Mallikarjuna Reddy, Y. Nageswara Rao Yadav and A. Prabhakar, officials and Dalit leaders took part.
Statue unveiled
Chittoor Staff Reporter adds:
Minister for Industries N. Amarnath Reddy unveiled the statue of Babu Jagjivan Ram on the bund of Gangineni Cheruvu in Chittoor town.
Collector P.S. Pradyumna said that the tankbund of Gangineni Cheruvu would be developed on the lines of the Tankbund in Hyderabad, by expanding the bund, and creating the best recreational facilities for the public.
Earlier, political leaders and officials garlanded the Jagjivan Ram’s statue and paid rich tributes to him.
Chittoor MLA D.A. Satyaprabha, TDP district president P. Nani, Joint Collector Girisha, Deputy Director (Social Welfare) Vijay Kumar and senior officials and functionaries of Dalit forums took part in the event.
The Minister and Collector distributed pensions under the NTR Barosa scheme to some of the beneficiaries at the venue.
Call for unity
Srikakulam Staff Reporter adds:
Several public representatives, officials and members of various Dalit organisations on Thursday recalled the great contribution of Babu Jagjivan Ram, who served the nation in various capacities, including as Deputy Prime Minister between 1977 and 79. Zilla Parishad chairperson Chowdary Dhanalakshmi, MLA Gunda Lakshmi Devi, Collector K.Dhananjaya Reddy and others garlanded his statue during a function at the ZP office.
All India Christian Council general secretary Ganji Ezra called for unity among downtrodden sections to promote the ideology of Jagjivan Ram, who had dedicated his life for the uplift of Dalits.
AICC leaders C.R. Prasada Rao and Pydi Moses Raju were among those present.
