Nandapur,1st Sept 2025: Eight years have passed since her husband’s death, and now Shashi Khemundu of Bankeiput village, Umbel Panchayat, Lamptaput Block, Koraput District, is struggling to raise her two daughters and a son. Living in an unsafe asbestos-roofed mud house, she survives on widow pension and subsidized rice from her ration card.
She says that her life is being sustained entirely by her pension. With tears in her eyes, she expresses concern over her children’s future and appeals to the Panchayat, Block, and District administration for help.
Shashi has formally requested:
Inclusion in the Antyodaya Awas Yojana for a permanent house
Educational support for her children
Inclusion of her 9-year-old son Nishikant’s name in the ration card
According to sources, her husband Ugrasena passed away in 2017. At that time, the children were very young, and the family had no means of sustenance. With the help of villagers and relatives, she managed to conduct her husband’s last rites.
Since then, Shashi has been working as a daily wage laborer while trying to educate her children. Her eldest daughter (18), who has passed +2, is now in Brahmapur looking for a job. The younger daughter (16) is pursuing +2 at Nandapur College, and the son is in Class 4 at the local school.
They live in a dilapidated, unsafe mud-walled house with an asbestos roof. Despite multiple requests, her son’s name hasn’t yet been added to the ration card. She urges authorities to provide her family with a house, education support, and basic entitlements to ensure a secure future.
Officials including Lamptaput BDO Jayanta Meher, Koraput Sub-Collector Premlal Hial, and Zilla Parishad Chief Development Officer Benudhar Sabar have been informed. They have assured that all necessary assistance will be arranged for the family.