The territorial administration is all set to roll out the second City Livelihood Centre in the town under the Centrally sponsored National Urban Livelihoods Mission with the aim to improve the quality of life of urban poor by enhancing their skills and providing them access to the market.
After the launch of City Livelihood Centre by the Oulgaret Municipality in February 2020, the Pondicherry Municipality had initiated the process to establish another CLC under the Public Private Partnership mode.
Commissioner of Pondicherry Municipality Mr. S. Sivakumar said a request for proposal had been floated to select an agency to establish a permanent service providing centre offering a gamut of fee-based services to the residents by engaging the local urban poor.
“The basic idea is to offer various services to the residents by roping in the skilled manpower available among the poor in urban localities. The entrusted agency would conduct a survey and create a database of electricians, plumbers, painters, caterers etc. The call centre at CLC would function as a link between residents and the selected urban service providers”, he said.
“The centre will also act as a training hub for self-help groups (SHGs) and market their products”, he told The Hindu.
Mr. G. Saravanan, Assistant Project Officer, Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana-National Urban Livelihoods Mission, Oulgaret Municipality said since the civic body started the initiative a few days before the first wave of COVID-19 the survey to identify the service providers could not be completed.
“The local body had already collected a database of 45 service providers, including plumbers, and their vetting by law enforcement agencies had been completed. The survey would be again launched along to identify potential housemaids and home nurses to support elderly people”, he said.
“The CLC during the pandemic time rose to the occasion by using the services of SHGs under the Oulgaret Municipality.
Some of them were given training to manufacture sanitisers with the help of faculty from the Chemistry Department of Kanchi Mamunivar Centre for Postgraduate Studies. Around 1000 litres of sanitisers were produced and supplied to healthcare workers and front-line workers”, he said adding they are now venturing into other business activities.
“The CLC had opened a call centre and used the services of SHG members to home deliver grocery and food items”, he added.
