Bhawanipatna: A man afflicted with leprosy has been living a cursed life for the last 30 years in a shanty after villagers driven by superstition drove him out of the village over the disease. The incident has been reported from Talajhapi village under T Rampur block in Kalahandi district, the report said. The man was identified as Kadma Majhi, 63, of the village. He has been living in a small shanty on a foothill around one kilometre from the village. He has been living alone and the disease and his miseries only are his constant companions.
He has been living in the shanty throughout the year like a primitive man and survives on whatever food he receives from people by begging. The only assistance he receives from the state government is 5 kg rice and monthly allowance of Rs 500 which is too little for survival. He has been living a life of isolation and deprivation despite a plethora of schemes launched by the state government and Centre for the benefit and welfare of the downtrodden and poor.
However, many of the government schemes continue to remain a distant dream for him. In the twilight of his life, he is yet to get a house under the housing schemes of the state government or the Centre. When contacted, additional district medical officer (ADMO) Manohar Majhi said that Kadma is recovering after taking medicines and he is not a danger to any individual or the people in the society at large.
However, the villagers have banished him from the village over superstition and blind belief. The district health department will conduct awareness meetings in the village and sensitise them to be rational and not to fall prey to any superstition, he said. People have demanded the district administration to intervene and bring back Kadma Majhi again to his village and rehabilitate him by providing him assistance under government welfare schemes.