Tamil Nadu CM Stalin meets Narikurava woman who was denied Annadhanam at temple

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin on Thursday met the Narikuravar woman named Ashwini who was refused the 'Annadhanam' which is served at a temple in Mamallapuram, according to reports. The CM arrived at her residence following an invitation from Ashwini.

At a public event where CM Stalin announced welfare schemes for families including Ashwini's, the Narikuravar woman was quoted saying, “Thanks to the Chief Minister, we have now got voter IDs, Aadhaar and family ration cards. This feels like a dream. We usually have to struggle for four months to get a ration card at the government offices, we got the card in two days directly from him. When I met Minister (Sekar Babu) I told him that we’ve been living here wondering daily if we will be evicted or not, now that we have the deeds, we don’t have that fear."

After meeting Ashwini, CM Stalin tweeted, "While doing all this, the fire that the Dravidian movement passed through is haunting my memories! 'Periyar - Anna - Artist' I provided assistance to them from heart. Renovation of the mobile temple will continue!"

He added, "Similarly, I have ordered welfare assistance to be provided to these people throughout Tamil Nadu for a period of two weeks."

MK Stalin Launches Program For Sri Lankan Refugees In Tamil Nadu

Meanwhile, On November 2, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin inaugurated a program to construct 20,000 homes for 106 families of Sri Lankan Tamil refugees in Tamil Nadu. MK Stalin said, “The AIADMK government for the last 10 years has not come up with any plan for the Sri Lankan Tamils. The 10 projects announced for Sri Lankan Tamils ​​will come into effect from today.” CM MK Stalin took over the office in May and has been an ardent supporter of Sri Lankan Tamil refugees. Upon his visit to the national capital in June, Stalin met PM Modi and urged him to grant citizenship to Sri Lankan Tamil refugees. He also sought the Centre’s support to ensure equal rights for the Sri Lankan Tamil refugees in the state.

Recently while announcing the budget, the Stalin government revealed that 7,469 houses in the refugee camps would be reconstructed at a cost of Rs 231.54 crore. As per the scheme, 3,510 houses will be constructed for a cost of Rs 108 crore in the first phase alone. It was earlier announced that these welfare schemes for the refugees would be launched during Diwali. The refugee population even received five varieties of utensils and silk clothes for everyone in the family. The state government also distributed free LPG cylinders to the 18,000 Lankan Tamil families living in and outside the camps.