HYDERABAD: Around this time last year, while Chief Minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy was celebrating his birthday in Maldives, he had made a promise to a widow. Just a couple of days ago, the Chief Minister was in Goa with his family, once again, celebrating his birthday. But the promise to the woman remains just that. A promise.
Malathi, widow of Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officer Vadepalli Venkateswara Rao, who died in a deadly suicide attack in Kabul on July 7, 2008, is still waiting for a job (to be given on compassionate grounds) and land — both promised by Rajasekhara Reddy last year.
Malathi along with her two children, Amulya and Ankit, aged 10 and 12, is staying in Delhi in a quarter provided by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).
Venkat, as the IFS officer was fondly called by his friends, died in the suicide attack just outside the Indian Embassy in Kabul.
The attack killed over 40 people, including Defence Attache Brigadier R Mehta and some other security personnel. Government sources disclosed to Express that soon after the attack, the Chief Minister had directed a senior official in the CMO to immediately identify a suitable land and hand it over to Venkat’s wife.
A few months later, Malathi herself approached the State Government requesting for a job under Group I services as she had to raise her two children.
Sources said that in similar instances across the country, jobs were provided to the widows (under Group I). ‘‘When Malathi met the officials concerned, she was assured of a job and land at the earliest. Now, an year later, she is still waiting for a word from the Government,’’ the sources said.
Malathi works as a teacher at the Sanskriti School in Chanakyapuri, Delhi. The school, started by civil servants, is run mainly for their children. ‘‘Once she gets a job here, she will come back to Hyderabad. Till then, she has to continue in the same job in Delhi,’’ sources said.
A 1990 batch IFS officer, Venkat was from Narsipudi village in East Godavari district.
