When the children of the Jharkhand’s high and mighty require treatment for some ailments, resources of the entire State are laid out for them. The concept of welfare State, given the same conditions, perhaps does not apply to poor fathers in this land. For, they are left alienated to encounter nothing but apathy from State machinery even if the affliction has been inflicted by a State Government employee.
The plight of father-son duo — Surendra Ram, native of village Purnadih of Palamau district and his son Anuj, then a student of class four, on December 3, 2010 was paralyzed after brutal caning by his school teacher on his neck and back. Ever since then, their lives have been whittled by a torrent of miseries and ordeals of mounting medical expenses. The family is living a life of penury as Ram is neck deep in borrowings after selling all his agricultural land and mortgaging his house. According to Ram, approximately Rs 15 lakh have been already spent on the treatment.
Surendra Ram, presently in Ranchi, is desperately seeking an appointment with the Governor and Chief Minister Hemant Soren with pleas for financial aid from CM’s Relief Fund which indeed appears to be his bonafide claim.
Since the last two years the family is stay put in a Dharamshala of Safdarjung Hospital, New Delhi. Udaipur based orthopaedician Dr Chunawat has offered to operate on Anuj. The nerve generating operation could bring back some sensitivity and mobility to the upper and lower limbs. Even the AIIMS authorities have suggested the same operation. The flicker of hope generated is likely to incur an expense of Rs 4 to 5 lakhs — reasons for the distraught father camping in Ranchi.
Recently, his daily routine complies an endless wait to get an audience with the CM, both at his residence and Janta Durbar, but in vain, though he does receive a hollow assurance of a meeting the next day with a cold shoulder gesture of acceptance of his petition.
In the span of two-and-a-half years, Surendra has knocked all possible doors of state politicians and officials submitting petitions. The petitions are inconsequently meandering the bureaucratic tables with notifications to the concerned departments to do the needful. This case brings to light the pathogen of indifferent attitude and slow deliverance of justice and welfare schemes in the state. Even a letter from President’s Secretariat addressed to the Chief Secretary in this case seemingly has fallen on deaf ears.
After this paper relentlessly crusaded for Anuj’s rightful claim to justice and state compensation, the Prime Minister’s office issued a cheque of rupees one lac for the treatment on January 3, 2013.