Una, October 7 - On Tuesday, the second day of the second phase of the special publicity campaign being run by the Information and Public Relations Department, Purvi Kalamanch Jalgran Tabba presented public awareness programs in Dhamandri and Kuriala of Bangana subdivision.
Through songs, music, and street plays, the artists informed villagers about the state government's welfare schemes for the Scheduled Castes, public welfare policies, achievements, and the drug-free campaign.
During the program, the artists informed that under the Inter-Caste Marriage Incentive Scheme, if a young man or woman from the upper caste marries a Scheduled Caste, the state government provides an incentive of ?50,000 to the couple. This scheme was launched with the aim of eliminating social evils like untouchability.
For this, the couple must submit documents such as a caste certificate, Himachali certificate, marriage registration certificate, date of birth certificate, a copy of the ration card, an Aadhaar card, a wedding photograph, and a no-objection certificate from the relevant District Welfare Officer.
In addition, the theatre artists explained that under the Follow-Up Programme Scheme, the government provides financial assistance to eligible beneficiaries from Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and Other Backward Classes to provide them with livelihood opportunities. Under this scheme, women are provided a subsidy of ?1,800 per sewing machine, enabling them to become self-reliant by earning employment at home. They also informed the villagers about the Chief Minister's Sukh Ashray Yojana, the Indira Gandhi Sukh Shiksha Yojana, the Indira Gandhi Sukh Suraksha Yojana, and other welfare schemes.
The artists also emphasized drug prevention, describing it as a serious social evil and urged people to stay away from addiction and raise awareness about it.
It is noteworthy that for the socio-economic upliftment of Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes, various schemes and programmes are being run by the state government under the leadership of Chief Minister Thakur Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu, to take these to every village, a special public awareness campaign has been launched through cultural groups.
The first phase of this campaign has been completed in Una district. Whereas under the second phase, awareness programmes are being conducted in which 4 programmes will be organised in each assembly constituency.
On this occasion, Dhamandari's Pradhan Sunita Devi, Kuriala's Pradhan Jaswinder Kaur, Deputy Pradhan Amit Kumar, Ward Members Ritu Wala, Ram Lal, Bholi Devi and local villagers were present.