Pampore martyr's kin: All we want is apucca road in front of our house

Meja (Allahabad): In Meja tehsil, around 60 kilometre from Allahabad, almost anyone can lead you to the home of martyred CRPF jawan Rajesh Kumar. Rajesh died in a terrorist attack in Pampore, Jammu and Kashmir, in June.
Amid tributes from across the country for Uri martyrs, TOI visited the martyr's house. Separated from Nibi village in Meja by a 300-metre slush-filled kutcha road is the thatched mud house where the family still lives in abject poverty.All they ask for is that the promise made of a "pucca" road leading to a grand entrance in Kumar's name be kept.
Kumar's 70-year-old father, Brinda Prasad, says, "The district administration had promised a pucca road and also a 'Shahid Rajesh Dwar' after CRPF personnel struggled to reach our house. The pucca road was to be constructed in the only undeveloped part of the village where we live, and the grand entrance was meant to encourage village youth to join armed forces. " When contacted, Sub-divisional magistrate (SDM) Ashish Kumar Mishra said, "The kin have have been given the ex-gratia amount and the rest of the work will be completed shortly."
Kumar joined CRPF as a cook in 2004 and his job helped him marry off his sister, build a temple, get married himself and he was building a pucca house for the family when he was killed in an ambush on June 25.
His 43-year-old disabled brother, Radheshyam, says, "Had Rajesh completed the house, he would have been the first one in the clan to do so. We have nine biswa of agricultural land (over a bigha) which has to be evenly distributed among our uncles so the produce that each family gets is usually low."
Kumar was the sole breadwinner for his family comprising father, mother Prabhavati Devi, widow and his two minor sons. The state government had provided Rs 20 lakh as compensation to his widow, while Rs 3 lakh has been provided as per Central government's provision. The family decided to spend the amount on the education of Kumar's children Aditya Raj, 4, and Arpit Raj, 3. The family has also been provided an 'Antyodaya card', which is given to people living below poverty line.