Pilot project to detect hearing disability in kids announced

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa today made a series of announcements covering sectors such as social welfare which included among others a pilot project to detect hearing disability in children at an early stage.
Making suo motu announcements in the assembly, she said hearing disability can be cured if addressed at an early stage and therefore a pilot project in this regard would be implemented in Chennai and Sivaganga districts.
The project would be implemented at a cost of Rs 3.30 crore in 11 hospitals in Chennai and three in Sivaganga district, she said.
To benefit visually challenged persons, modern glowing foldable sticks would be provided to 5,000 such individuals this year. These would help them detect objects at a fair amount of distance ahead.

For the benefit of special children, the government will provide I-pads with a special software to 416 beneficiaries to help address their communication issues, Jayalalithaa said.
In an announcement covering the Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) sector, she said a multi-storeyed Industrial Complex housing 250 units would be set up at Tirumudivakkam here at an estimated cost of Rs 50 crore.

Two industrial estates would be set up at Sivaganga and Namakkal at a cost of Rs 36 crore to promote MSME units in these districts, she said.
Jayalalithaa also allocated Rs three crore towards a 300 kw solar power generation initiative to power street lights and pumpsetsat Kakkalur industrial estate in Tiruvallur district. In Chennai, one 'Amma Environment Park' will be set up at Tondiarpet. The Rs 2 crore worth park will include children's park, lawn, play area and environment awareness boards, she said.

She also proposed allocating Rs 28 crore towards breathing new life into the Parithipattu Lake at Avadi near here.
Encroachments in the lake will be removed and it would be desilted and renovated to attract birds. The Chief Minister also allocated over Rs six crore for renovation and beautification of two lakes in Erode district.