Odisha government is boasting of launching many initiatives for the welfare of divyangs in the State. However, the ground reality is that very few of them are being able to benefit from those schemes.
Meet Jeeban Kumar Mallick from Mundidehuli Sahi of Kamakhyanagar in Dhenkanal district. Though the 24-year-old divyang youth is a meritorious student and a diploma holder, he has not received any help from the government. He is now forced to run a chicken center to earn his living.
Jeeban is deaf and dumb from his childhood. Moreover, he is suffering from sickle cell disease. He also lost his mother in his childhood. After completing his education, when he couldn’t manage a job, he became helpless. With no other alternative, he decided to start a chicken center in his area to earn his livelihood.
“The hapless fellow is deaf and dumb from childhood. He also lost his mother when he was 12 years old. After completing his Matriculation, he passed Diploma after a lot of hardship. Nobody is ready to give him a job as he is deaf and dumb. The doctor has reported that he is 90 percent hard of hearing. We are always worried about his future,” said Jeeban’s grandfather, Basant Mallick.
“Jeeban is a good student. He has passed Matric with good division and completed his Diploma. Though he failed to get a job, he was committed to do something in his life. With no help forthcoming from any sources, he is running a small chicken center now. But the earning is not enough to buy medicines for his sickle cell disease. We request the government to provide some help to the hapless boy to start a poultry farm and become self-reliant in the process,” said Jeeban’s father, Jayanta Mallick.
Local residents have also demanded that the government should extend its helping hand for Jeeban who is using sign language while dealing with the customers at his shop.
“Jeeban is a very nice guy. Though he has passed Diploma, he is forced to earn his living by running a chicken center. We request the district administration to provide some sort of help to him,” said Sanjay Mallick, a villager.
Meanwhile, the Dhenkanal district administration has assured all kinds of help to Jeeban.
“We are always making people aware to be self-reliant. The government has started many schemes in this regard. We are providing monetary assistance at low interest rates under various schemes. We urge people to start their own ventures by taking advantage of those schemes,” said Kamakhyanagar Sub-Collector, Jyoti Sankar Sahu.
“We will try to provide necessary assistance to the divyang youth as per government provisions,” he added.