Authorities finally move to provide BPL benefits to differently-abled woman in Panoor
This woman, who has been paralysed, will now be eligible for essential benefits after previously being issued a pink ration card.
This woman, who has been paralysed, will now be eligible for essential benefits after previously being issued a pink ration card.
This woman, who has been paralysed, will now be eligible for essential benefits after previously being issued a pink ration card.
Panoor: Authorities have finally taken note of the plight of 60-year-old Periyambarathu Shobha, a resident of Kootteri in Ward 2 of the Panoor municipality.
Shobha, who has been paralysed below the waist due to polio and is even unable to step out of her house, was earlier issued only a pink ration card. Taking note of her miserable condition, the municipality has now initiated steps to provide her with an Antyodaya card.
As part of this process, a team of officials led by ward councillor K P Savithry recently visited her house to collect details. The councillor confirmed that Shobha would soon be issued a Below Poverty Line (BPL) ration card, making her eligible for essential benefits.
On August 15, Malayala Manorama had reported on Shobha’s difficult life. The daughter of the late Pullarambindivida Chandodevu couple, she contracted polio at the age of four and has been bedridden since. For years she lived with her mother, but after her mother’s death, Shobha has been surviving alone in her brother’s house.
Two years ago, she was allotted a pink ration card, which made her ineligible for BPL benefits. Today, she sustains herself only with the disability pension. With no land in her name, Shobha is also excluded from schemes such as the LIFE housing project. Her only hope now is to receive a piece of land and build a home with government assistance.