The family members of Sunita Raita, the tribal girl of Gajapati who committed suicide after being denied of 16 month’s stipend recently, have pooh-poohed Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik’s ex-gratia of Rs1 lakh apparently stating that the latter should be more conscious of protecting lives than announcing monetary help from the State exchequer.
“I do not need Rs1 lakh. Instead I will pay the Chief Minister Rs1 lakh. I will sell my land, take loans, do whatever it takes. But let him bring my daughter back,” said Srimati, the disconsolate mother of Sunita.
Sunita’s father Sudam Raita said, “Only today I came to know that the value of a tribal girl’s life is a mere one lakh rupees for the Chief Minister.”
Sunita’s younger sister Madhusmita, a student of Class VIII, had a piece of advice for the Chief Minister.
“Instead of making such announcements, the Chief Minister should see to it that no poor student like my sister, who is studying solely with the hope of stipend money, is deprived of it as she was,” said Madhusmita.
In a belated damage control exercise, CM Naveen Patnaik had shunted out Gajapati Collector Basudeb Bahinipati, who along with the Integrated Tribal Development Agency (ITDA) Project Director, had been named in the suicide note left behind by Sunita, on Sunday. Sunita had committed suicide on Wednesday after her last hope of getting her long delayed stipend was dashed on Monday. The incident had raised public outrage in the area, forcing the authorities to take action.