POONCH: Deputy Commissioner Poonch Inder Jeet accompanied by Senior Superintendent of Police, Vinod Kumar today interacted with the Saksham beneficiaries here in the DDC office complex.

Saksham is a newly launched scheme of the J&K Government under which the surviving spouse and one eldest surviving member of affected families would receive a special monthly pension of Rs 1,000 through Direct bank transfer (DBT), provided that they are not otherwise receiving any pension under other schemes. It aims to ensure sustenance of families who have lost their sole bread earner due to coronavirus.

The scheme also provides special scholarships to children who lost their earning parents, siblings, guardians to COVID-19. The special scholarship would be paid annually at the rate of Rs 20,000 and Rs 40,000 through DBT to children studying up to class 12 and college, respectively.

The Deputy Commissioner handed over nineteen scholarships and 16 pension sanction letters to the families of Covid victims under the scheme.

The Deputy Commissioner, while interacting with the beneficiaries, assured full support to them in this time of difficulty.

The beneficiaries thanked the Deputy Commissioner and appreciated the District Administration for its concern towards the needy families amid the pandemic.