Thiruvananthapuram district panchayat president V. Priyadarshini says priority for women and child-oriented projects

V. Priyadarshini, newly elected president of the Thiruvananthapuram district panchayat, will be prioritising women and child-oriented projects as well as expanding the portable Animal Birth Control (ABC) programme to control stray dogs in the rural belts of the district. Speaking to The Hindu after taking charge, she said the administration’s immediate aim is to complete the project activities started by the previous governing body within this financial year.

The Left Democratic Front (LDF) had secured a majority of 15 seats in the 28-member council in the local body elections held recently. The United Democratic Front (UDF) put up an improved performance by winning in 13 divisions while the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) failed to open its account. Ms. Priyadarshini, who won from the Kallambalam division for the LDF won the presidential election against the UDF’s Agnes Rani, while LDF’s B.P. Murali, who won from the Navaikulam division, won the vice-presidential elections.

As the district panchayat president is also the chairperson of the district planning committee, a constitutional body, she will also be involved in planning developmental and welfare activities across the district.

“The previous committee has started the work of preparing a plan applicable to the entire district as per the government’s instructions. It will be completed soon and its priority suggestions will be implemented as joint-integrated projects in collaboration with the local bodies. Special attention will be given to the problems of scheduled castes (SC) and scheduled tribes (ST), differently-abled people, transgender community and children. The previous committee has implemented many women-oriented projects that are a model for other districts. More activities need to be undertaken in this area on the basis of collective discussions,” she said.

A vision document will be prepared after discussing with the people’s representatives and experts for the activities to be implemented in the district over the next five years, she said.

“It is intended to undertake activities to instil a sense of democracy in children and to make them participants in those planning activities. It will be decided through discussion how to ensure public participation in the field of palliative care with the help of local government institutions. The activities carried out to prevent dropouts and increase the success rate in the education sector will be accelerated. An effective plan will be implemented in collaboration with the Scheduled Tribes Development department to make the functioning of study rooms in the ST areas more efficient,” she said.

She said the studies conducted by the previous administration regarding the state of women in the rural sector, especially regarding education and employment, will come in handy to plan projects for women. The Vanitha Junction project, which provided a platform for creative expression for women across the district, will be broadened. Open gyms will be established in more places.