MANGALURU: Punam M, a 36-year-old woman from Mannagudda in the city who is suffering from a mental illness, is struggling to get back her benefits under various social welfare schemes and also apply for the Gruhalakshmi scheme that provides monthly financial assistance of Rs 2,000 to the woman head of the family. She was getting the disability pension and Anna Bhagya benefits, but they stopped two months ago as she could not seed her bank account. Since then she has been making rounds to government offices and the bank looking for help with some documents in hand.
It took more than a month for her to seed her bank account. She could not complete the procedure as it requires a cell phone and she did not have one. After some time, she managed to get a device with the help of her well-wishers, but this time a new problem cropped up.
There was a mismatch in her name mentioned in the Aadhaar card and the bank account. On Tuesday, she finally managed to rectify that too. Not knowing whom to approach now, Punam said she would go to an ‘internet centre’ to apply for the Gruhalakshmi scheme and also get her other benefits back.
Punam lost her mother when she was very young and after that, she came under the care of her father and grandmother. But both died three years ago. Her aunt and uncle who live close by help her with food and other minor requirements, but they cannot do much because of their old age.