This Republic Day turned out a day to remember for S. Tamil Selvi, a transgender from the remote Puliankannu village in Walajah taluk of Ranipet district, as she received the appointment order as women health volunteer at the Primary Health Care Centre (PHC) in her village with immediate effect. The gesture by the Collector, D. Bhaskara Pandian, comes a day after she pleaded with him to provide her a suitable job in the Health Department within the district after being jobless for months. She has been enrolled as a woman health volunteer under the Makkalai Thedi Maruthuvam scheme, the DMK government’s programme to deliver essential healthcare at the doorstep of the people, in the district.
“The voluntary worker job at the PHC is a stop-gap measure for her. Paperwork is being done recommending her for middle-level health worker in the PHC to the DMS (Directorate of Medical Services) on compassionate grounds. Such inclusiveness will motivate other transgenders to excel in their life. In Ranipet district, we have around 200 transgenders,” Mr. Bhaskara Pandian, told The Hindu.
