- Abhijit Nath, NET Correspondent, Tripura
In a bid to ensure better delivery of services to Divyangas and elderly persons, union Minister of State (MoS) for Social Justice and Empowerment, Pratima Bhoumik said that District Disability Rehabilitation Centers (DDRCs) and Old age homes would be set-up in all the eight districts of Tripura.
Speaking exclusively to Northeast Today on Sunday, Bhoumik said, “Several initiatives were taken to ensure that elderly people and persons with disability get access to better delivery of services”.
She said, the DDRCs are supposed to be set up in each district but in Tripura, there are only four. To ensure that beneficiaries receive services at their doorstep, all the districts get separate DDRCs.
“For issuing UDID cards for the beneficiaries, we are also engaging Anganwadi workers. The process of issuing cards needs to be expedited across the state. This is why we have decided to train our AWC workers for issuing those cards”, said Bhoumik.
Apart from that, for the elderly persons, she said, the department is planning to open old age homes in all eight districts. “The ministry has enough funds to be utilized in this regard but there are several problems associated with it. These homes should be run by the NGOs and only in this condition funds can be released for better infrastructure”, she added.
“In Tripura, all the old age homes are being run under the direct control of the Social Welfare and Social Education department. To encourage them to take up such projects in the state, we have planned to hold a meeting with NGOs”, said Bhoumik.
The Union Minister also informed “By next two-three months, district-wise aid distribution programs would be organized in all the districts of Tripura.
