Ambedkar hostel students to get double stipend: Samrat

Patna: Deputy CM Samrat Choudhary on Monday said the NDA govt was committed to the welfare of scheduled caste (SC) and scheduled tribe (ST) people in Bihar.Addressing the ‘Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar Samagra Shiksha Samagam’ organised by the SC/ST welfare department in Patna on the eve of Ambedkar Jayanti, he said students residing in Ambedkar hostels will receive a doubled stipend, from Rs 1,000 to Rs 2,000, starting in April. He said there are 91 Ambedkar residential schools and 139 hostels in the state, and students residing in these institutions receive free accommodation and other modern amenities.Choudhary said basic amenities are being ensured in approximately 60,000 hamlets inhabited by the Dalit community in the state. “PM Narendra Modi and CM Nitish Kumar consistently issue directives to ensure that Dalit settlements face no difficulties of any kind,” he said.Choudhary and deputy chief minister Vijay Kumar Sinha also felicitated meritorious students from Ambedkar residential schools who performed exceptionally well in their Matriculation and Intermediate examinations. They also honoured 123 girl students from the Ambedkar residential school in Gaighat, Patna, who secured first division in their Intermediate examinations.More than 6,000 students from various districts participated in the function, which was presided over by minister for SC and ST welfare Lakhendra Kumar Roshan. The minister highlighted the department’s key achievements and said financial assistance ranging from Rs 30,000 to Rs 1 lakh is now provided under the Chief Minister Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Civil Services Incentive Scheme, benefiting 6,223 aspirants to date.“The construction of 100-seat hostels for girls is currently underway across all 38 districts of the state. The process of providing financial assistance for higher education under the National Overseas Scholarship Scheme has been expedited. Furthermore, 4,858 community halls-cum-work sheds have been constructed under the Bihar Mahadalit Development Mission,” Lakhendra said.