Collector plays good Samaritan, helps out ripe-old siblings

Tirupur Collector played the role of a good samaritan to two septuagenarian sisters who had saved notes totalling Rs 46,000 not realising they were demonetised.

On coming to know the predicament of Thangammal (78) and Rangammal (75), belonging to Poovanur village in the nearby Tirupur district, the Collector K Vijayakarthikeyan arranged for old age pension for the two and also for their eye treatment in the government hospital in Tirupur.

That they have saved invalid notes came to light when the sisters developed health problems and told their relatives they had some money to meet the medical expenses.

Thangammal had saved Rs 24,000 while Rangammal had Rs 22,000 to meet their medical and funeral expenses.

They had earned the money over the last 10 years by doing petty jobs, but were not aware of the demonetisation drive in November 2016, their relatives said.

The Collector had directed the officials to check the problems with the sisters and submit a report to him.

As instructed, Revenue inspector and VOA and met the two, inquired about the problem and submitted the report with the bank account and Aadhar card details of the siblings, official sources said.

Based on the report, the Collector made arrangements for old age pension and also for the eye treatment for Thangammal and Rangammal in the government hospital in Tirupur