People's Democracy

(Weekly Organ of the Communist Party of India (Marxist)

Vol. XXVI

No. 41

October 20,2002


TRIPURA

 LF Govt Takes More Pro-People Decisions

 MOTIVATED by a constant concern for the weaker sections of society, the Left Front government of Tripura recently took two more decisions aimed at their well being. The state’s information minister Jitendra Choudhury briefed the press at the Civil Secretariat on September 26 about the cabinet decisions taken on September 25.

Talking to the press on the day, the minister said as many posts as possible would be created, under the state government’s education department, exclusively for the visually handicapped people having academic qualifications ranging from secondary to post-graduate. For blind music artistes too, some posts will be created in the government’s information and culture department. Some posts will be created under Group D category as well. All this is in addition to the 3 per cent reservation mandatory for the physically handicapped.

To facilitate the entry of blind people in clerical jobs, some Braille typewriters will be procured, the minister further informed. Incidentally, 2,970 people in the state are visually handicapped at present.

Accepting in toto the recommendations of the high powered committee formed for welfare of the visually handicapped, the Left Front cabinet is also considering payment of unemployment allowance to the totally blind Class VIII pass persons registered in employment exchanges.

In another pro-people decision taken by the cabinet on September 25, the state government is soon going to sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with a non-government medical organisation of Hyderabad. The aim is to form an autonomous society to provide highly sophisticated health care in Agartala on a break-even basis, so that patients with critical and chronic, complicated ailments are not compelled to go outside the state for treatment. The state government will lease to the society the entire Super Specialty Block, newly built by the government in the G B Hospital complex of Agartala, for the purpose. (INN)