The Barpali Days

This blog is the Facebook of Barpali which picturise its "life" and "culture". It was a "palli" or a village a century back where the all time great Oriya poet swabhaba kabi Gangadhar Meher had taken birth. Now this bustling little town is renowned world-over for the weaving of Sambalpuri ikat handloom fabrics. Agriculture is its prime economy. And when you happen to visit this little town don't miss to taste Chaul bara.

Breaking

Apr 14, 2015

Ripunath Sahu : Could you make his hand straight !


Ripunath Sahu is a driver of Barpali. Six years back his life shattered when Ripunath met with a devastating accident. He was working as a driver for Dilip Sahu. On 29th December 2008 he was carrying thirteen passengers in a Mahindra Bolero and travelling to Puri. At the dead of the night at around 3.00 AM while the vehicle neared the Jarpada, Boinda railway station it collided head-on with a road side tree. In this mishap six family members of Mani Meher’s family died. Miraculously Ripunath Sahu survived, but by paying a heavy tool for it. Both his legs and left hand were fractured, while the nose was pierced. He was in coma and rushed to the Cuttack Medical College. On getting conscious after three days he was brought to Burla’s V.S.S.Medical College. Over here surgeries were done to his limbs.

He was in the hospital bed for long two months. He did not had either health insurance or the life insurance to meet the contingencies. His employer Dilip Sahu gave only Rs.6,000/-, while the Barpali Taxi Union paid Rs.4,000/-. His brother-in-law contributed  Rs.15,000/- to meet the medical needs. Whereas the actual expenses were somewhere around Rs.1,80,000/-. It tempted his wife Tikeswari Sahu to remove whatever little gold ornaments she was adorned with. She sold the ornaments in the market to raise the funds to meet the immediate medical need.

Even after discharge it took him around two years to recover from that trauma. Though Ripunath survived, but from there the ordeal for his wife Tikeswari began. Ripunath was the sole earning member of the family. Though he is alive, but crippled. He neither possess any other skill to eke out a living. His wife Tikeswari had to take the mantle to manage the livelihood of her family consisting of two young daughters (than 4 years and 1 year), a son (than 6 years old) and this handicapped husband. As she is semi-literate, all she could opted was  vending of vegetables on the streets of Barpali. She used to purchase the fresh vegetables at morning in the Barpali Daily Market. At noon hours she used to carry the stuff in a bamboo basket mounted on top of her head and sell it on the streets of Barpali. She was selling the vegetables moving from door to door to different households mostly in the Canal Colony and Kadlipali. She had to dispose-off the stuff before the sunset as she did not have cold storage facility. A day she manage to earn as little as Rs.50 to Rs.80 (roughly US $ 1). With this meager income she was managing the household of her three children and the handicapped husband. While her brother provided two sacks of rice for survival.

Needless to say, she unable to pay the monthly school fee of her son Jitu Sahu who was then in KG-1 (Kinder Garden). Her son was then attending a private English Medium School in the immediate vicinity by paying a monthly fee of Rs.120/-. And the result the boy was instantly dropped from the school. Instead he went to attend the Government run Upper Primary School at Subhas Nagar to get the free education in Oriya. 
   

Unable to cope with the challenges of the domestic ordeal one day his wife had a spat with Ripunath Sahu. He bashed her and threw out of their home. She left behind her two young daughters (than 4 years and 1 year) and a son (than 6 years old) at home and left to the bosom of her parents at Bariha Pukhapaen. After much trail and tribulations she returned to the fold of her husband and children to resume her domestic life.

They stayed at Andharu Seth garage free of rentals. In the year 2010  Ripunath resumed his work of driving a vehicle. Now he is operating a jeep on lease. He had taken a Mahindra Maxx Lx by paying a monthly rental of Rs.6,000/-. A month he able to earn somewhere Rs.8,000/- to Rs.10,000/-. After paying the lease rent, fuel and upkeepment of the vehicle a month only Rs. 3,000/- to Rs.4,000/- is left over. This little is not enough to support a family of four lives.  At present he is penniless as he is paying house rental of Rs.1,500/- a month, children tuition fee Rs.1,000/- a month and grocery.

Even after six years of that devastated accident Ripunath is having a major physical impediment that restrict him from leading a normal life.  His  left  hand  has been swollen and disfigured. He  immediately need medical attention, but don’t have money to remove the steel rods implanted inside his hand. He seeks financial help of around Rs.75,000/- to undergo the next round of surgery.

Ripunath or Tikeswari could be reached at their Cell # 91-99-375-73076. They can speak either Oriya or Hindi, but no English. He is not a computer literate, so no email id. You may please mail this writer in case you want to provide whatever the little help possible on your part.   
                    
E. KIRAN MOHAN,
C\o. Dr.E.R.Rao (M.D),
Tehsil Chowk,
At\PO – BARPALI – 768 029,
Dist. Bargarh, Orissa, India.
Cell # 91 99 371 20565 

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