BALANGIR STARVATION
DEATH ROCKS ASSEMBLY
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The State Assembly on Thursday witnessed repeated adjournments as
Opposition Congress kept hammering the Government over a 55-year-old woman’s
death allegedly due to starvation in the drought-hit Balangir district.
Normalcy returned in the House after the Speaker directed the Government to
give a statement on the alleged starvation death case in the House within 24
hours.
The issue was raised by Leader of Opposition Narasingha Mishra of the
Congress as soon as the Zero Hour began before noon.
"We demand a statement from the Revenue and Disaster Management
Minister on the starvation death of a woman in drought-hit Balangir
district," Mishra said. Stating that right to life is a fundamental right,
Mishra alleged that Sua Dei of Gutupalli village under Balangir block of the
district died due to starvation on December 8. The woman was alone at her house
as other members of the family had migrated to other States in search of work
due to acute drought conditions in the district, he said.
"I came to know about the incident from media reports and
immediately sent a person to verify the allegation. I found that the allegation
true as the woman died due to lack of food. Even a grain was not found in her
house," Mishra said.
He said that though the woman had lifted rice from a PDS outlet as per
the records, there was no grain in her house. She was so weak and unable to
walk. Besides, she was not getting any pension or allowances.
He also alleged that the body was buried without conducting postmortem
which could have proved that she died of starvation.
"Instead of admitting the fact, the district administration has
been trying to suppress the matter and attempts are on to destroy evidences
there in," Mishra said and demanded a direction from the Speaker to the
Government.
As the Speaker did not issue any direction to the Government, the
Congress members rushed to the Well of the House and staged agitation. They
shouted slogans holding the Government responsible for the starvation death.
While some opposition MLAs sat on the Assembly reporters’ table, Congress whip
Tara Prasad Bahinipati grabbed the Speaker's mike and attempted to climb on to
his podium.
Unable to run the House, Speaker Niranjan Pujari first adjourned the
House till 12 noon and then till 12.10 pm.
When the House reassembled at 12.10 pm, BJP member KV Singh Deo also
demanded a ruling from the Speaker seeking a statement from the Government.
"The district administration has been trying to cover up the incident.
Therefore, the Government should give a statement on the matter," he said.
B’NGIR WOMAN DIED DUE
TO PROLONGED ILLNESS: GOVT
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The issue of starvation death of a woman in Balangir district that had
rocked the State Assembly on Thursday cropped up again on Friday as the Government
said she passed away following prolonged illness while the Opposition
maintained that she died of hunger.
The Government quoted a report of the Balangir Collector as saying the
55-year-old woman was paralytic for years, used to receive BPL benefits under
PDS and was looked after by her neighbours.
Leader of Opposition Narasingha Mishra of the Congress, however,
rejected this statement and asked how the woman was collecting BPL rice from
PDS outlets if she was paralytic.
Speaker Niranjan Pujari had on Thursday directed the Government to give
a statement on the issue in the House within 24 hours.
In his statement on Friday, Revenue and Disaster Management Minister
Bijayshree Routray said information received from the Balangir Collector showed
that Sua Dei Nag of Gutupalli village died not due to starvation but because of
prolonged illness.
The woman, a widow, was paralytic for the last eight to nine years and
bedridden for two years, Routray said, adding that her only son Kalindi Nag had
left the village with his family and their whereabouts were not known.
While Sua Dei received widow pension of Rs 300 till October and 25 kg of
BPL rice up to November 17 this year, she was being looked after by neighbours,
the Minister said. She had been provided an Indira Awas Yojana house, he said.
The wman died on December 7 and her last rites were performed the next
day, he said, adding that Balangir Tehsildar and BDO have conducted a joint
enquiry into the incident.
Leader of Opposition Mishra, however, questioned how she walked and
collected the rice from PDS outlets if she was suffering from paralysis. As no
postmortem was done, how could the Government confirm that it was not a case of
starvation, he asked and alleged that postmortem was not done to suppress the cause
of her death.
The Assistant BDO recorded the statement of villagers by using lights of
mobile phone as there is no electricity in the village, the Congress leader
said. Those who got their statements recorded were pressurised by the district
administration to say that it is not a case of starvation, Mishra alleged
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