Coimbatore: The Tamil Nadu govt on Monday expanded across the state its scheme to provide food to sanitary workers. The expansion was flagged off by chief minister M K Stalin at a function in Thiruvallur.The expansion is set to benefit more than 1.29 lakh sanitary workers across all city corporations, municipalities and town panchayats. “The Dravidian model govt is all about providing housing for sanitation workers, life insurance for them, scholarships for higher education for their children and loans for aspiring entreprenuers among them,” Stalin said in a social media post after the event. “We will implement many more welfare schemes. We will always stand by the sanitation workers,” he said, claiming that this was India’s first-ever scheme to eradicate the hunger of sanitation workers.A govt statement said food would be provided in an insulated thermal carrying bag thrice a day for sanitary workers, to ensure that those working on all three shifts get the food. “The govt would ensure that the food given is healthy. The state govt will incur an additional expense of more than Rs 213 crore per year for the scheme,” the statement said.Stalin also distributed financial assistance for the wards of deceased sanitary workers, loans for aspiring entrepreneurs, life insurance, and scholarships for higher education for their children, at the function.The scheme was inaugurated in the city by Stalin through videocnference at a marriage hall on Kalapatti Road. District collector Pavankumar G Giriyappanavar presided over the event, while corporation mayor R Ranganayaki, corporation commissioner M Sivaguru Prabakaran, and other officials participated.As many as 9,454 sanitary workers and drivers with the Coimbatore city corporation will benefit from the scheme.The trial run of this expanded project was carried out in select wards in the corporation for the last 10 days. A corporation official said the scheme would cover 4,500 sanitary workers across all 100 wards of the corporation. “Food will be distributed from a common kitchen and transported to ward offices and zonal offices, where they usually report for work. It will reach the centres before 6.30am when the workers report on duty.” R. Rajesh, a sanitary worker, said the scheme would benefit those who come to work without eating breakfast.
