“My father had told me that he wanted to gift ‘khadaus’ to Yogi ji,” said Rimjhim, 6, while handing over wooden clogs crafted by her deceased father to chief minister Yogi Adityanath.

Rimjhim is daughter of an electricity department worker, Anand Sharma (resident of Salehnagar), who died in an accident in November last year.

Sharma had crafted wooden clogs for Yogi Adityanath, but died before his dream was fulfilled. Rimjhim’s mother had passed away in 2016. The girl is looked after by her maternal relatives now.

Nearly three months after her father’s death, Rimjhim fulfilled his father’s wish, when the chief minister invited her to his residence. While accepting wooden clogs, he asked: “Who made it.” She replied, “My father.”

The CM asked, “What did he say?” Rimjhim replied, “He said he wanted to give it to Yogi Baba.”

The chief minister also asked her about school, education and family. He inquired whether she got uniform, bags in the school.

The CM also asked the girl, “Do they care (maternal relatives) for you?” Yogi Adityanath further announced Rs 5 lakh for the girl besides directing the district magistrate to allot a house in the name of her maternal grandmother under the Prime Minister Awas Yojana (PMAY). He also asked DM to expedite the process so that the aggrieved family gets the compensation.

First Published: Jan 25, 2019 09:12 IST