Legislator seeks succour for “single fathers”

SHILLONG, MAR 10: Having had to support many single fathers in his constituency, South Shillong legislator Sanbor Shullai today demanded from the Meghalaya government to extend special assistance to such fathers as is the case with single mothers.

“I urge the state government to also allow single fathers to avail the financial assistance of the government,” Shullai said while participating in the debate on the Governor’s Address in the Assembly.

Shullai was referring to the Chief Minister’s Social Assistance Scheme for infirm, widows and disabled which single mothers are also beneficiaries.

The legislator from the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), which is supporting the Congress-led state government, informed that on going through his files, there are also fathers who have come up to him for financial support.

“There are plenty of husbands who were left by their wives and had to take care of the children,” he said.

Raising another issue, Shullai expressed concern over the alleged deletion of names of genuine tribal voters from the electoral rolls by the election department.

“Such mistakes have to be rectified by taking into consideration the records available with the different autonomous district councils (ADCs) on the various tribes and sub-tribes in the state,” he said.

During the last district council bye-elections, he said many genuine voters could not participate in the election process just because their names were missing from electoral rolls.

Further, Shullai sought the state government’s intervention into the alleged illegal encroachment by the defence authority to ensure that the catchment area remains unaffected.