Srinagar, October 14 (Scoop News) – As part of several activities planned by the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board in its yearlong Silver Jubilee Celebrations (2011-12), the Shrine Board has announced various measures to promote the welfare of the erstwhile Baridar families who are residing in and around the Trikuta Hills, the abode of Shri Mata Vaishno Deviji. The Board has decided to enhance the quantum of scholarships for the students, particularly for girls, and financial assistance for celebrating the marriages of daughters.
Giving details of the decisions taken to this effect by N. N. Vohra, Governor, who is the Chairman of the Shrine Board, R. K. Goyal, Chief Executive Officer, stated that the scale of scholarships provided to the students belonging to the erstwhile Baridar families has been revised upward w.e.f 1st October, 2011. He added that under the revised scheme, a special emphasis has been given for promoting the education of girls in a big way, by prescribing a higher scale of scholarships for them. The girl students studying from 1st to 5th class will be paid a scholarship of Rs. 250 per month while boys studying in these classes will get Rs. 150 per month. Earlier, there was no provision for grant of scholarships for boys or girls studying upto the 5th class. The scholarships provided to the girls belonging to erstwhile Baridar families studying from 6th to 8th class has been raised from Rs. 150 to Rs. 300 per month, while the scholarship for boys has been hiked from Rs. 150 to Rs. 200 per month. In the case of those studying in the 9th and 10th classes the amount of monthly scholarship for girls shall now be Rs. 400 and Rs. 250 for boys. He added that scholarships of Rs. 500 per month provided to students studying in the 11th and 12th classes have been enhanced to Rs. 800 per month in the case of girls and Rs. 600 per month in the case of boys. As far as the amount of scholarship provided by the Shrine Board to the students of Undergraduate and Post-Graduate Degree Courses is concerned, this has been raised from Rs. 750 per month to Rs. 1200 per month for girl students and Rs. 900 for the boys.
The CEO said that the above scholarships for those studying in 1st to 12th classes in Government schools shall be payable to the top 10 meritorious students, based on their class-wise internal merit. So far as scholarships in regard to Undergraduate and Post-Graduate Degree Courses are concerned these shall be payable to all the students belonging to the erstwhile Baridar families studying anywhere in the country, provided the beneficiary-student’s family normally resides in the rural areas surrounding the Trikuta Hills.
Goyal further disclosed that scale of the financial assistance for the marriage of a daughter belonging to an erstwhile Baridar family has also been enhanced from Rs. 21,000 to Rs. 31,000 and in the case of the marriage of a daughter whose father is not alive the financial assistance shall be Rs. 41,000 instead of the earlier amount of Rs. 25,000. He said that the grant of financial assistance to a Baridar family for the marriage of a girl both of whose parents are not alive has been raised from Rs. 31,000 to Rs. 51,000. In addition, 15 ladies suits and 2 Chunnies would also be presented by the Shrine Board to each eligible family whose daughters are being married.
The CEO added that over 1000 families are expected to be benefited from the Silver Jubilee Celebration decisions taken by the Shrine Board.