Sulabh founder proposes Bill for widow welfare

Social activist and Sulabh International founder Bindeshwar Pathak Monday will urge the government to pass a Bill to introduce a welfare scheme for widows shunned by their families. Earlier,BJP’s Chimur MP Mahadeorao Shiwankar had proposed a Bill for the protection,welfare and maintenance of widows in 2007 but it was not tabled in Parliament.“I am modifying the Bill in consultation with experts,lawyers and judges. After the Lok Sabha elections,I will ask the government to present it in the Parliament,” Pathak said. The Bill will seek to establish a board by the state for the welfare of the neglected,abandoned and destitute women who have lost their husbands,besides subsistence allowance of Rs 2,000 per month,free accommodation,educational and medical facilities,vocational training and employment for them.