14 dead in 18 months, Uddanam widows still waiting for pension

SRIKAKULAM: Rongoi Jamuna sits silently on the verandah of her parents’ house unmindful of her one-year-old daughter playing nearby.  The death of her husband R Trinath (28), a tea vendor,  has taken a toll on her mental health, say her parents. The 23-year-old does not take part in the conversation.

Suffering from acute chronic kidney disease (CKD), Trinath, the sole breadwinner of the family, died on May 7 this year, leaving Jamuna and their two daughters in acute penury.  With Jamuna’s mental health deteriorating, one of her relatives from Hyderabad adopted her elder daughter Kalyani (7) and her parents brought Jamuna and her younger daughter Siri (1)  back to their house.

“We could not have left our daughter to die in penury. Repeated appeals to the officials for windows’ pension and other social security benefits yielded no results,” laments J Rajaiah, Jamuna’s father.
Not only Jamuna, a majority of the residents at Sahallaputtuga village in Kaviti mandal of Uddanam region have similar stories to share. Notwithstanding the authorities’ claim of extending healthcare services and social security benefits including the monthly pension to the CKD victims, the ground reality in Sahallaputtuga presents a grim picture. In the last one -and-a-half years As many as 14 people have died of renal ailments and 22 more are suffering from acute CKD symptoms in the village with a population of a little over 2,000.  Around 90 per cent of the residents eke out their living by making broomsticks from coconut leaves.

“More than 60 per cent of the adults in the village are suffering from kidney diseases. The applications seeking social security pensions submitted by the villagers are gathering dust in government offices. More than half of the widows in the village are yet to get pensions,” says Sahalalaputtuga village head Dayanidhi. Despite the high prevalence of CKD, only Baddai Limma is undergoing dialysis at Sompeta, he adds.   

“The government’s promise of extending healthcare services, free medicine and pension to the renal ailment victims remains a promise only for us,” says H Damayanti who lost her husband Duryodhana to the CKD on January 26 this year.  She has been doing the rounds to government offices for the benefits under the Chandranna Bheema scheme, but to no avail thus far.

Left in the lurch
60% of residents suffering from CKD at Sahallaputtuga in Kaviti mandal  
22 Residents in advanced stages of renal ailments
1 patient undergoing dialysis

• Healthcare services and social security pensions elude victims
• Last pension allocation was made in January