Elderly Puri Woman Premalata Sahu Faces Destitution After Eviction, Son's Illness

Husband gone, son on death bed... Premalata expresses grief in a big way Puri, 3012 (Bureau): 'We are poor people. They are oppressing us like Maoists. They are beating us with sticks and throwing things at us. Where will we go... What will we eat... How will we survive?' The government should listen to our voices. Make some arrangements for us. 75-year-old Premalata Sahu, who is sitting in a big way with 8/10 photos of Thakurs and 4-5 puds of Nirmala, is being treated like this. Premalata's birthplace is Kalapathar in Khordha district. She has been living in Puri for over 50 years. Swami Buddhanath Krishna had a tea shop on the street facing the cinema. She lived a very happy life. She has one son among her four daughters. After the husband left, the son started a small cabin and started trading. Four years ago, all the shopkeepers were driven out of Badadanda. The shop fell into disrepair. Still, the son gets 5000 rupees from where he can give it to them. He started taking drugs in great distress due to the destruction of the shop. Now he has fallen ill and is confined to a bed. It is impossible to imagine how much it will cost to recover. The husband has left and now the son is on his deathbed. Since he has no house, his daughter has taken shelter at home. Will the thousands of rupees of allowance cover my food, clothing and medicine expenses? He comes to Badadanda to see if he gets anything, and he moves as he pleases. If he brings 200,400 rupees worth of goods in a basket and sits in Badadanda, if he gets 50/100 profit, he will survive. They have taken away our hope of survival. They are shouting and beating us with sticks. Once they took my 500 rupees and did not return it. Another time they smashed Jagannath's photo with a big stick. Many poor people like me are suffering from this plight. We are fighting with death with great loss in that black hope. How much joy is there in the New Year? Premalata proudly says that she will not vote again this time.