Rs10 lakh for Kushth Ashram: Soni

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, January 13

Cabinet Minister OP Soni on Sunday announced a grant of Rs 10 lakh for the Kushth Ashram, a home for leprosy patients, that houses 130 inmates.

He has already released a grant of Rs 10 lakh for over 70-year-old building.

The home for leprosy patients was started on the Chabal road in 1948. Over the years, the plinth level of building has gone down from that of the road. Even a brief spell of rain brings troubles for inmates.

There are about 70 rooms offering separate quarters to the families staying here. An inmate, Raju Kumar, said it took a number of days for the building to get rid of the accumulated rainwater.

Another inmate at the Kushth Ashram, Prabhat, said, the inmates hadn’t received shoes which are issued every winter by the government. They had received a pair each of slippers in summer. He felt that they were unlikely to receive the shoes this winter.

He said a majority of the leprosy patients had become physically challenged so their wards must be given employment on priority. He rued that many of their wards were constrained to be employed at low wages due to unavailability of government and corporate jobs.