Elderly dies of ‘starvation’ in Odisha, inquiry ordered

Bhubaneswar: Even though the Odisha government claims to have provided subsidised ration and meal to the people under Below Poverty Line (BPL) category, a heart rendering case of an alleged starvation death was reported from Jajpur district on Monday.

The victim, a childless person, was identified as Gobinda Behera of Shantipada village in Pritipur panchayat under the Binjharpur block. He died of alleged starvation late on Saturday night, the report said. The tragedy did not end here and the government’s apathy continued even after his death.

The villagers alleged that no official came ahead to provide money for cremation of the deceased under Harischandra Yojana.

However, Binjharpur block chairman Nanda Kishore Samal said that he was unaware of the incident. “If there are any lapses on the part of any government officers, we would certainly take action,” district collector  Ranjan Kumar Das said.