KHAMMAM: A 41-year-old polio-affected Gangula Jagannadham, a native of Karepalli village, said that he had visited weekly Prajavani programmes at the Collector’s office 20 times, requesting the government to sanction him a loan of Rs 2 lakh to set up a business. But his request has not been considered yet, he told TNIE at the Monday’s grievances day here.
A tailor by profession, Jagannatham said his income is not enough to feed his family of four, including his wife, a son, pursuing a degree, and a daughter, who is in class VII. He lamented that he finds it hard to pay the fee for the education of his two children.
In the hope of securing some help from the government, he travels 35 km from his village to the Collector’s office and submits his petition to the authorities at Prajavani.
“I have made innumerable trips to the Prajavani programme in the last four months for a loan of Rs 2 lakh, but without success,” he rued.
He said that he even fell down and fractured his leg during one of his visits to the Collector’s office.
Another polio-affected person, Md Aziz (35), a resident of Shanthinagar in Khammam, shared with TNIE a similar experience. He said that he has been making futile trips to Prajavani for a house under the Indiramma Housing Scheme. According to Aziz, he lives with his aged and ailing mother in a rented house and the Rs 6,000 pension that both of them receive from the government is not enough to pay rent and meet their daily needs.
Like these two polio-affected individuals, many others turned up at Prajavani for a helping hand from the government.