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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Four doctors in Kerala booked for birth of newborn with genetic disorders
Alappuzha, (Kerala) (PTI): Four doctors in Kerala have been booked for allegedly failing to detect genetic disorders in a newborn while it was still in the mother's womb, the police said on Thursday.
The accused include two female doctors attached to the Kadappuram Government Women and Child Hospital in Alappuzha, along with two doctors from private diagnostic labs, according to the Alappuzha South police.
The police registered an FIR on Tuesday based on a complaint lodged by Anish and Surumi, a couple from Alappuzha.
They alleged that the doctors failed to detect or disclose the genetic abnormalities during prenatal scans, instead assuring them that the reports were normal.
The couple also claimed that they were shown the baby only four days after delivery, according to the complaint.
The FIR stated that Surumi, 35, was undergoing treatment for her third pregnancy at Kadappuram Women and Child Hospital.
On October 30, Surumi was admitted for delivery. However, she was referred to Government Medical College Hospital (MCH) in Vandanam, Alappuzha, citing the absence of fetal movement and heartbeat, the FIR said.
On November 8, the baby was delivered following surgery at MCH and was found to have severe internal and external deformities, the FIR stated.
Meanwhile, one of the accused doctors, responding to the allegations, said she had treated Surumi only during the initial months of her pregnancy.
"I provided care for three months at the beginning of her pregnancy. The reports shown to me indicated issues with the fetus's growth," she said.
The doctors associated with the diagnostic labs, however, maintained that there were no errors in the scan reports.
The police registered a case invoking Sections 125 (act endangering life or personal safety of others), 125 (b) (where grievous hurt is caused, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to three years, or with fine which may extend to ten thousand rupees, or with both) of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) against the accused.
