For Vedamani, the adage that there is light at the end of the tunnel, came true. Courtesy Sandeep Nanduri, the Collector of Tuticorin district (also called Thoothukudi) in Tamil Nadu.

Convicted in a criminal case for 17 years, Vedamani was released from Palayamkottai prison in Tirunelveli late last year. The 57-year-old, a resident of Nelavellamadam village near Nazerath in Tuticorin district, reportedly has no family members with him. Keen to start life afresh, he approached the Grievance Day Petition (GDP) that is held every Monday at the Tuticorin collectorate and presented a petition to the Collector.

Vedamani’s plea was for a loan of Rs one lakh to set up an electric service centre. He was advised by the officials to apply for the loan under the Prime Minister Employment Generation Scheme (PMEGS) or New Entrepreneur-cum-Enterprise Development scheme (NEEDS) of the Tamil Nadu government. 

Both options failed to bear fruit as Vedamani’s application was rejected by the bank due to his background as a prisoner. Nanduri ordered a background check on Vedamani and found that he used to worked as an electrician before he went to jail. His years behind bars had left him too weak to undertake any manual labour. 

Based on the report, Nanduri sanctioned Rs one lakh under the Collector’s discretionary funds to set up the electrical shop. On 16 May, Vedamani’s shop in Nazerath town panchayat, about 42 km from Tuticorin city, saw the light of the day. The district administration helped him with racks and table for the storing the items. 

It would only be in the fitness of things to say More `Power’ to you, Sandeep Nanduri, who is a 2009 batch IAS officer of the Tamil Nadu cadre. An engineering graduate from Osmania University in Hyderabad, he did his MBA from IIM, Bengaluru.