In a remote corner of Odisha’s Koraput district, an elderly couple lives in heartbreaking conditions, forgotten by the system that promised them welfare.
Sundar Gadaba (75) and his wife Bala Gadaba (70), residents of Malaguda village under Kolara panchayat in Borigumma block, have been living in a ramshackle hut made of straw and tarpaulin after their home collapsed.
With their two sons having migrated to Andhra Pradesh as daily wage labourers, the couple is left to fend for themselves. Displaced from Maliguda due to unsafe housing, they now take shelter in Tanginiguda, surviving on scant earnings from odd jobs at a roadside eatery.
Despite multiple applications for government housing and old-age pension, they continue to be excluded from welfare benefits. Administrative apathy and political indifference have left them without basic dignity. During the monsoon, their frail shelter floods up to their knees, forcing them to remain seated through rain-soaked nights.
Repeated appeals to the local sarpanch and ward members have gone unanswered, they say, with only 10 kg of rice offered as government assistance. When contacted, block social security officials cited documentation issues as the reason behind the denial of the pension. They assured that corrective action would be taken once the records are updated.
This stark tale from Maliguda is a grim reminder of the gaps in welfare delivery in tribal Odisha. Locals have now demanded immediate intervention to provide the couple with housing and a pension, urging authorities to act before it’s too late.
