Mangaluru: The online campaign initiated by Newskarnataka.com along with the NECF (National Environment Care Federation) “Release stipend for endo-victims” kept the bureaucrats and elected representatives on their toes, with public picking up phones to question the delay in  the release of the monthly stipend to endo- victims since January.

It is learnt that calls to the concerned authorities, the numbers of which this news portal had put out, came in from far and wide including abroad. Besides, Shashidhar Shetty, Secretary of NECF, said people from Tumkur, Kundapur, Shikaripura, Sullya, Puttur and Mangalore had phoned in asking for the reasons the delay and requesting the authorities to resolve the problem  post haste. As many as 100-125 calls peppered the concerned authorities.

Principal Secretary of Health and Family Welfare Department Atul Kumar Tiwari informed one of the callers that district health department of DK failed to complete required procedures. “We have asked to give some explanations on endo-victims which DK health department has not yet filed”. Citing this, Tiwari claimed this was the prime reason for pending of pensions to 3112 victims in the district.

However, a source close to revenue department told Newskarnataka.com that insufficient funds had forced the latter body to withhold the stipend. The fund earmarked for the stipend, by the revenue department,  had been diverted by the state to facilitate populist schemes mainly the Anna Bhagya to BPL card holders. This was key reason for the delay in the release of the stipend, the sources said.

The revenue department and health department, together are responsible for the shouldering the responsibility of administering the endo-victms stipend fund. However deputy commissioner, DK, A B Ibrahim’s P A admitted there was some problem and advised callers to pressurize elected representatives.

A few callers told Newskarnataka.com that they lambasted the District Health Officer (DHO). The Health and Family Welfare Minister, U T Khader assured inconvenience would end in two days, while District-in-Charge Minister Ramanath Rai was unaware of matter.

The Member of Parliament, Nalin Kumar Kateel, also promised to remedy the injustice asap.

Strange incident reported from Puttur taluk

Even as the state government found itself at the receiving end of a campaign that highlighted its administrative lacunae in the matter of the stipend of endosulfan victims, a 4-year-old male boy, Jayson Vineeth from Mudubail, has not received a smart card or endosulfan identity card yet.

This failure on the part of the state government, had a a ripple effect. The KSRTC, Puttur division declined to issue a free bus pass to Veronica aggrieved mother of Jayson pointing out unavailability of smart card or Identity card.

Interestingly Jayson has been receiving stipend since March 2014 as he was identified as an endosulfan affected, at a medical camp. “I am now running from pillar to poster to collect the smart card,” said Veronica.

Though the Tashildar’s order stating that Jayson was entitled to stipend was produced before officials at the bus pass distribution camp at Kokkada, Primary Health Center, the officials sent her back demanding the production of the smart card. “I am now forced to travel to Puttur for collecting the card and I am still not sure whether I will be able to get the card.”

Speaking to Newskarnataka.com, she lamented that  her family was dependent on her husband Vincent Gonsalves who supports them by doing masonry work. Her father-in-law has been suffering from diabetes, due to which his fingers were amputated after the latter contracted gangrene and this has created an additional burden on her family.

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