Baripada (Odisha): The harrowing story of an old-aged tribal couple living in the toilet due to government apathy and lack of facilities has come to light in Odisha's Mayurbhanj district.
Giri Dehuri and his physically handicapped wife Jhati Dehuri of Dokoi Amalanam village under Morada block in the district moved into the toilet built under the government’s scheme after the cyclonic storm razed their house five years ago.
The couple is now fearful of being compelled to live on the streets, without any help from the government.
At a very ripe age they do not have a roof over their heads to take shelter, nor do they have sufficient food to stave off hunger. They also do not have any property of their own. They sleep on the verandah of a neighbour.
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The toilet they got from the government is their only place of shelter. This miserable scene of this village after seventy four years of independence is a vivid description of the real picture of the government’s benevolent plans and programmes.
Expressing his grief, Jhati Dehuri, said, "The cyclone destroyed my house but the pucca toilet was saved. Now I have nowhere to go. The toilet which was allotted to me five years back has become my shelter now. I don’t know how long we’ll be staying here."
"I had applied for housing grant either under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojna. But the housing grants had eluded me. I have no resources to rebuild the house. We had approached the Block Development Officer of Morada block to grant us a house under the government benevolent programme," he said.
Giri collects fire wood from the forest and sells them in the market to make a living. On the other hand although his wife is a physically handicapped person, she is deprived of any pension from the government meant for such persons.
Not only the government pension, they also do not get any subsidized or free rice under any government assistance programme for the poor people.
Beginning from the State government to the Central Government, they are spending crores of rupees on various programmes undertaken for the benefit of the poorer section of the society.
However, Giri and Jhati of this Amalanama village are deprived of the benefits available under all these plans of the Government.
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