Following a news report published in these columns on August 9 on a ostracised tribal family at Hankya Tanda of Chandampet mandal, the State Human Rights Commission (SHRC) took up a suo motu case and directed the Nalgonda district Collector to send a report on what kind of help they had extended to the family after the news was published.
The district administration is preparing a report to send it across to the SHRC in next couple of days.
Speaking to The Hindu , District Revenue Officer G. Ravi Nayak said that they were directed to send a report on the present status of the family members of Ramavath Jaggu Nayak.
Jaggu, who had been suffering from fits, died in July last week. Since Jaggu Nayak’s seven-year-old hearing and speech impaired son, Devoji, also suffers from fits, most of the relatives and villagers have reportedly distanced themselves, even from attending the last rites of Jaggu as they believed that fits is an infectious disease.
Jaggu’s brother, Gopiya Nayak, shifted his brother’s family to the outskirts of the tanda , though Gopiya and Jaggu Nayak hold a common four-room house, which was sanctioned under government’s housing scheme on the name of Jaggu's wife, Dhwali, a mentally and physically challenged woman.
Dhwali and Jaggu were also blessed with a 10-year-old girl, Ammulu, whom the villagers admitted into a residential hostel a month before the death of his father.
On know the travails of Dhawali, Deovji and Ammulu, MPDO and MRO of Chandampet visited the village to enquire about the incident on August 9.
Informing about the help they had extended to help the family, MPDO K. Narasimulu said both Dhwali and Devoji were not drawing any pension though they were eligible for Aasara pension as they could not even get a certificate from SADARAM (Software for Assessment of Disability Access, Rehabilitation and Empowerment ).
Though there is a ration card issued on Dhwali’s name, Mr. Narasimhulu said that they were not receiving the ration regularly.
The MPDO said that they had immediately issued Rs 1,500 pension to Dhwali, Antodya Anna Yojana (AAY) card, under which the family gets 35-kg rice for month, and transferred the house from Gopiya’s name to Dhwali.
Half of the four-room house was divided between Gopiya and Dhwali, who is being taken care by her husband’s elder sister, Mudavath Salamma.
However, the process to issue pension to Devoji is under way.
Mahita, an NGO working locally, had also presented Rs 6,000 to the family recently. DRO Ravi Nayak said that they would issue pension to Devoji soon, apart from paying Rs. 10,000 under National Family Benefit Scheme to the family.
Though the district administration sent Devoji to a hearing and speech impaired school in Miryalaguda, Mr. Ravi Nayak said he could not adjust in the hostel.
Since he is too young to stay away from his mother, the DRO said that they have made arrangements to send the boy to a local government school.
The SHRC took up the case following a letter written by a Hyderabad-based human rights activist, who attached the news report published in The Hindu .
SHRC directs Nalgonda Collector to report on the kind of help the administration extended to the family
