70-year-old woman crawls 2 km to collect pension in Odisha
Keonjhar (Odisha), Sep 24: A 70-year-old woman in Odisha's Keonjhar district was forced to crawl nearly two kilometres from her home to the panchayat office to collect her old-age pension.
The ailing woman identified as Pathuri Dehury, a resident of Raisuan gram panchayat, cannot walk.
A video of Dehury crawling on a village road has gone viral on social media.
Raisuan gram panchayat sarpanch Bagun Champia said that he drew the attention of the administration after watching the old woman crawling on the road on television news and seeing her pictures in newspapers.
“I have also verified from the villagers that the woman is not able to walk properly due to her age-related aliment,” the Sarpanch said.
Though the state government had earlier issued a directive to officials to deliver the pension of elderly and disabled beneficiaries at their doorstep, Dehury said a panchayat official had asked her to visit the office to collect the monthly pension.
The woman is 70 years old and had no other alternative to reach there, according to villagers.
The gram panchayat concerned is under Telkoi block in Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi’s home district Keonjhar.
Telkoi block development officer (BDO) Geeta Murmu told PTI that the old-age pension was earlier sent to Dehury’s bank account.
However, as she became ill and expressed her inability to visit the bank, the local administration has started disbursing the pension by hand, she said.
Now, the panchayat extension officer was asked to disburse the old-age pension to Dehury at her home each month. A wheelchair has also been provided to her, the BDO said.
Raisuan sarpanch said the civil supply assistant will provide rations to Dehury at her doorstep.
The state government provides pension to 42 lakh elderly people under schemes like Madhu Babu Pension Yojana and the Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension Scheme.
80-year-old woman was forced to crawl nearly 2 km to panchayat office in Telkoi block of Odisha's Keonjhar to collect her old-age pension, despite a government directive to deliver the allowances to homes of elderly and disabled beneficiaries.@CMO_Odisha @BJP4Odisha… pic.twitter.com/DbtXXIrU74
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Himachal: Three killed, two injured as speeding car dashes against parked truck
Mandi (HP) (PTI): Three people were killed and two others sustained grievous injuries after a speeding car dashed against a stationary truck at Dadour near Nerchowk in Mandi district on Monday late at night, police said on Tuesday.
There were five people in the car when the tragedy struck. Three were declared dead in the hospital while two have been referred to AIIMS Bilaspur.
The deceased were identified as Anil Kumar (28), Rohit Kumar (26) and Subash Kumar (23), all residents of Mandi district, while the injured are Harish and Pankaj.
A case has been registered under relevant sections and investigations are underway, said Superintendent of Police (SP) Mandi Vinod Kumar.
He added that the bodies have been handed over to the family members of the deceased.
In a statement, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu expressed grief over the loss of three lives in a road accident. He directed the district administration to ensure best possible treatment for the injured and wished them a speedy recovery.
