COIMBATORE: It was a dream come true when Sangeetha, a 40-year-old auto driver from Coimbatore, finally managed to build a home of her own with assistance from the state and central governments.
Now, she is overjoyed after being invited by President Droupadi Murmu herself to witness the Republic Day Parade in New Delhi.
The invitation from Rashtrapati Bhavan to witness the parade and attend the reception hosted by President Murmu came as an unexpected honour for this mother of two from Kavundampalayam.
Her husband, Balaji, is a construction worker, and they have two sons, one pursuing college education and the other studying in Class 10.
Having spent the past seven years navigating the streets of Coimbatore behind the wheel of an auto, her journey to Delhi to take part in such a prestigious event feels nothing short of surreal.
For nearly two decades, we were paying at least Rs 4,000 every month as house rent from our modest earnings. Although I owned ancestral land, our small savings were insufficient to build a house. After a long struggle, I finally realised my dream of owning a home,
Sangeetha
Sangeetha received a subsidy of Rs 2.10 lakh from the Tamil Nadu Urban Habitat Development Board (TNUHDB) under the Prime Minister’s Awas Yojana - Housing for All scheme (PMAY-HFA) and availed a housing loan of Rs 5 lakh from the Coimbatore District Central Cooperative Bank.
Sangeetha’s disciplined financial planning, despite her low income, stands out as an example of the effective utilisation of government welfare initiatives
An official
TNUHDB officials said two beneficiaries of the central scheme from Tamil Nadu have been selected to attend the Republic Day celebrations.
On Monday, she met Coimbatore Collector Pavankumar G Giriyappanavar, who appreciated her for being invited to the prestigious event.