This is second such incident in last three months.
Even after the Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s warning, another starvation related death was reported from Bareilly district in Uttar Pradesh within last three months.
A 42-year-old paralysed man died in the lap of his 90-year-old mother allegedly due to hunger. Nemchandra, a resident of Kudaria Iqlaspur village in Bhamora area of Bareilly district, have not had any food for the past three days. He died on Thursday reportedly due to hunger.
Nemchandra was among youngest in eight siblings. Four of his elder brothers are no longer alive while two work as labour in Bareilly city and another in Delhi. Unmarried Nemchandra was living alone with his 90-year-old mother Khillo Devi in family’s ancestral hut and was working as labour for their survival. A few weeks ago, he had suffered paralytic attack and was completely bedridden.
“He had stopped going to work after falling ill. As a result their financial condition had worsened. We used to offer them food whenever they had nothing to eat,” said Sarla, a relative of the deceased.
His mother Khillo Devi said that they were surviving on the mercy of neighbours and relatives. She said that they had bought ration but had to sell it to carry out treatment of her son. “For the past three days, we had nothing to cook and eat. My son died for want of food,” she told media.
On hearing the starvation death news, officials rushed to the village to enquire and offer help. The lady Lekhpal Shiva Kushwaha, who visited Nemchandra’s hut, admitted that there was hardly anything in the house to eat. “Their condition was pathetic. We are holding an inquiry whether he died of hunger or illness and would recommend financial help from the state government for the mother,” said the lady Lekhpal.
Though the state government has denied the starvation death, second within three months in the district, Nemchandra’s death has raised questions about administration's claims that their welfare schemes were reaching to the last poor. Nemchandra was neither offered any free medical help nor his 90-year-old mother was getting old age pension.
Taking serious note of the death, the State Finance Minister Rajesh Agarwal, who is MLA from Bareilly Cantonment, has directed pension department to offer old age pension to the mother. Denying that death was due to starvation, the minister said that the state government would offer financial help to the deceased’s family.
The Samajwadi Party President and former Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav took a dig at the government’s denial on starvation death. “It was shameful that Nemchandra died of starvation but the state government was busy in paining a rosy picture of villages with fake figures,” commented Yadav.
Earlier, a 50-year-old woman Sakina had died due to starvation in Bareilly district in November 2017 after her husband Ishaq Ahmed was denied ration by the shop owner as his ailing wife could not accompany him for biometric authentication of their ration card.
Following a public outcry over Sakina’s death, the Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had warned all district magistrates to ensure that no starvation related deaths are reported from any part of the state.
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 "Nemchandra starves to death")
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