Keonjhar: The International Day for Senior Citizens being celebrated worldwide Tuesday has little or no meaning for the elderly couple of Gambharia village in this district, who have been thrown out of their house and denied food and shelter by their own sons. Even this day is full of tears and pain for them.
While everyone is busy celebrating the day with their grandparents, Nityananda Patra and his wife were seen waiting in the district collocterate to meet the Collector at his grievance cell and narrate how they had struggled to give everything to their sons who have now left them to fend for self.
Nityananda’s family comprised of five persons – his wife, two sons and a daughter. Despite being in acute poverty, the couple brought up the three children and provided them with education in the hope that they would spend their old days happily amongst their children and grandchildren.
But fate played a cruel joke on them.
Things turned ugly after marriage of their daughter and sons. Whatever little property the couple had, the three forced them to distribute among themselves. After taking away all the property, the three children have left the elderly couple and are subjecting them to inhumane physical and mental tortures when they try to go to their house.
They grab all the PDS ration and monthly old-age pension of the couple and keep them hungry without food.
With no option left, the elderly couple had sought the intervention of the village committee for a solution. However, the torture of their sons became even worse after that.
“We took care of them and helped them make their lives. Now, they are saying that we are a burden for them and can no longer bear our burden. They have thrown us from our house,” alleged Nityananda as tears rolled down his eyes.
“We had built the house. But, they have taken over our house. Now we are living at the mercy of our villagers. We are spending days without food. We survive with whatever our neighbours and villagers provide out of sympathy,” he added, while his wife stood beside him with eyes welling up in tears.
Taking pity on the elderly couple, the villagers have even lodged a written complaint with Town police station, but no steps have been taken in this regard.
After hearing the ordeal of the elderly couple, Collector Ashish Thakre ordered the Sub-Collector to take necessary steps against the unscrupulous sons. When contacted, Thakre said steps would be taken against the sons and daughter-in-laws as per the law.
PNN