BHUBANESWAR: What daily wager Laxmidhar Behera could not secure in his lifetime for his poor family, his death did. On Friday, a day after his lifeless body was found, the Khurda district authorities handed over the work order of `1.2 lakh to the deceased’s wife for a dwelling unit under the State Government’s flagship rural housing scheme Biju Pucca Ghar Yojana.

Laxmidhar, a native of Nirakarpur Patna village, had apparently consumed poison on Wednesday night. A video in which he alleged that his requests for a housing unit were unheeded by the local block and panchayat officials had gone viral soon after his death, sending leaders of various political parties to his roofless hut.

The district administration, however, refuted the allegations that the deceased’s pleas for a dwelling unit had gone unheeded by local authorities.

“The work order was issued on January 10 but on December 31 last year, the administration had sanctioned dwelling units for 238 beneficiaries, including that of Laxmidhar, under the rural housing scheme,” Khurda Collector Nirmal Chandra Mishra told The Express.

Laxmidhar had claimed that he was under debt burden and without much work and also did not have adequate resources to sustain his family members, let alone build a house for them. Laxmidhar is survived by his wife and three children.