Nuagaon: At a time when they need care and support, an octogenarian couple here has been struggling to take care of their orphan grandson as no help was forthcoming from the administration.
First their son died after he was bitten by a snake while sleeping in his house verandah. Before, the heart-broken couple could come to terms with their son’s death, their daughter-in-law passed away due to stress after her husband’s death, leaving behind the kid to the care of the elderly couple.
With much care and love from the couple, the baby grew up to a seven-year-old. However, the couple is a worried lot as they fear they might die anytime soon due to their old age.
“Who will take care of our grandson, what will happen to him, where he will live after their death, what will happen to his future?” are the questions haunting Birasen Jani and his wife Henguli Jani of Singhpur village under Nuagaon block in Nayagarh district.
The couple’s family comprised their only son Laxmidhar Jani and their daughter-in-law Heera Jani. Tragedy struck the family in the form of Laxmidhar’s death when the baby was only one-year-old. Left with no bread earner, Heera was affected by ailments after the death of her husband. Later, deprived of proper treatment, Heera also passed away, leaving behind the baby with the elderly couple.
Caring for the boy has been the couple’s main concern now. While elderly people of their age are in need of care and support, here is a reverse scenario. Left with no sources of income, the couple makes leaf platelets for a living. They avail Rs 600 as old-age pension and monthly quota of 15kg ration.
However, this hardly lasts them for 15 days. In most occasions, they survive with whatever locals provided them out of sympathy. Locals sympathised with the administration to take notice of the plight of the elderly couple and extend a helping hand.
When contacted, the district child protection officer, Pritikant Panda, said the administration will rehabilitate the boy in an Ashram school and take care of his studies.
