Gautam Behera (18) of Sargimunda village under Boden block of Nuapada district died on Monday night. He was differently-abled. He used to travel to different towns by his tricycle to beg and that was the only source of living for him and his sister Debanti.
"We were getting 10 kg of Re 1 per kg rice every month from the panchayat. Last time, we got it on May 25. How could we live with that for so long? "We had nothing to eat for last five days. My brother was ill and needed good food, but there was nothing," said Debanti.
This correspondent had posted a Tweet on January 5 @cmodisha and @nuapada Collector telling about the plight of Debanti and Gautam. The administration said that they would provide 5 kg rice to Gautam. "They kept their promise, but was that sufficient?" ask villagers. "The Government would now defend that the death has not occurred due to starvation and the issue would die down in a few days," they added.
It was learnt from the villagers that they demanded a postmortem of Gautam’s body as Debanti claimed that he was under starvation for five days, but the administration didn't listen.
