Harishchandra Scheme failure! Dead body waits to be cremated in Kendrapara!

Kendrapara: The State government has launched several pro poor plans but most remain limited to the files. After several incidents of Mahaprayan failure surfaced recently, today the body of an old woman in the district was carried on shoulders to be cremated due to Harishchandra Scheme failure.

The old woman of Kantala village in Chakroda panchayat of Kendrapara lived with her daughter’s family as she had no son. She was brought to her own village for her last rites. But neither neighbours nor relatives came to support them to carry the dead body. So her daughter and nephew carried it in a trolley and took it to the crematorium.

There too the poor family alleged they had to wait for hours and still did not get any support under the Harishchandra Scheme wherein the state government provides immediate financial assistance for conducting last rites to poor.

“When we called the Sarpanch for assistance under the scheme, he said there is no fund in the account,” said the nephew of the old woman.