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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CM Siddaramaiah alleges ‘criminal conspiracy’ in Sringeri recount, vows legal action
Bengaluru (PTI): Alleging a “criminal conspiracy” by BJP candidate D N Jeevaraj in the Sringeri Assembly poll recounting, Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah on Tuesday said the outcome was manipulated after valid postal ballot votes in favour of Congress leader T D Raje Gowda were tampered with during the recounting process.
Following a Karnataka High Court order on an election petition filed by Jeevaraj, challenging Raje Gowda’s election, the reverification and recounting were conducted on Saturday.
After the reverification and recount of postal ballots for the Sringeri Assembly constituency, votes polled in favour of Raje Gowda were reduced by 255, the returning officer said.
A report on the matter has been submitted to the Election Commission of India for further action, the officer added.
Congress leader Raje Gowda had won the 2023 Assembly polls from Sringeri by 201 votes, defeating his nearest rival Jeevaraj.
Addressing a press conference in Bengaluru, Siddaramaiah said the High Court had directed the recounting of postal ballots and that irregularities were noticed during the exercise conducted on May 2.
“This is a clear case of criminal conspiracy,” Siddaramaiah said, alleging that valid votes cast in favour of Raje Gowda were altered after being accepted by counting agents of all parties, including Congress, BJP, and JD(S).
He claimed that during the recounting of postal ballots, 255 votes were initially accepted as valid by all agents but were later tampered with by subordinate officials.
“There is a second mark on the votes polled in favour of Raje Gowda. They had accepted these as valid votes. Subsequently, another mark was made by officials. This is a clear case of criminal conspiracy,” he said.
When asked who was behind the alleged conspiracy, the CM replied, “It was hatched by Jeevaraj and others. It is planned.”
Siddaramaiah further alleged that the returning officer acted improperly by declaring the result despite the presence of an Election Commission observer during the recounting.
“Immediately after the counting, the returning officer announced the result. He should not have done so; this is against the law,” he said.
He pointed out that Raje Gowda had originally won by 201 votes, but after the recounting, the BJP candidate was declared the winner by 52 votes.
“The BJP has committed a criminal act of conspiracy. This is not vote chori but vote dacoity,” he alleged.
The CM said a police complaint had already been filed by Raje Gowda’s election agent, Sudhir Kumar, and emphasised the need for electoral integrity.
“We want transparency and free and fair elections. That is what our Constitution mandates,” he added.
Stating that the government would pursue legal remedies, Siddaramaiah said, “We are preparing an appeal challenging the returning officer’s announcement in a court of law.”
Responding to a separate query on elections in other states, the CM said there appeared to be an anti-incumbency factor in West Bengal, while results in Tamil Nadu were “surprising,” adding that Vijay’s party was emerging as the largest there.
Following the victory of party candidates in Bagalkote and Davanagere South, Siddaramaiah expressed confidence about future electoral prospects in Karnataka.
“Even in 2028, we will win the Assembly elections. We will come back,” the CM said.
Siddaramaiah added that he would order a forensic examination into the alleged tampering of postal ballots.
