Education will help lift marginalised out of poverty: Speaker

Puducherry, Feb 11 (PTI) Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumartoday laid the foundation stone for Rs 50 crore residentialschool project of the Department of Adi Dravidar Welfare ofPuducherry government here and said education is the vehicleby which the economically and socially marginalised people canlift themselves out of poverty.

"The economically and socially marginalised people canequip themselves with the means of education to participatefully in community affairs", Kumar said.

However, the Speaker agreed that "in spite of severalpath-breaking legislative initiatives to address the problem,our socio-political system has not ensured that at least amajority of children between the 6 and 14 years of age are inschool".

Kumar also laid foundation stone of a multi-storiedresidential complex proposed to be constructed by Puducherrygovernment at Kirumambakkam near here that is expected tobenefit around 1,500 famiies.

She also released a commemorative postal stamp on formerPuducherry Chief Minister and freedom fighter V VenkatasubhaReddiar to mark his birth centenary.

Meanwhile, Puducherry Welfare Minister M Kandasamy saidthat "very soon" the old age pension amount would be raised toRs 750 from the present Rs 600 given to elderly citizens. Headded that the monthly assistance would be extended to 20,000more people, bringing the number of total beneficiaries to1.40 lakhs in the Union Territory.

The Speaker had earlier unveiled the statue of her fatherand former Deputy Prime Minister Jagjivan Ram at airport roadsaid the late leader was a crusader for social justice and astaunch freedom fighter.