JAJPUR: Alleging harassment by the tehsildar of Dasarathapur over providing an approach road to his house, a 73-year-old man reportedly attempted self-immolation in front of the Jajpur collector during a public grievance hearing held at the District Rural Development Agency (DRDA) conference hall on Monday.
Police sources said Jogendra Nayak, a resident of Andola under Dasarathapur block, attended the grievance hearing meeting chaired by collector Ambar Kumar Kar. He reportedly took out a plastic bottle from his bag, poured petrol on his body and attempted to set himself ablaze. However, he was stopped just in time by the police personnel present at the meeting.
On being asked why he was taking such an extreme step, Nayak alleged that he was being harassed by the Dasarathapur tehsildar over construction of an approach road to his house in Andola village.
Nayak claimed he has been running to the Dasarathapur tehsil office to construct an approach road to his house for the past two years. Despite submitting an application along with all the required documents, the tehsildar was not paying any heed to his repeated requests, he alleged.
“There is no approach road to my house due to which my family is facing hardship during emergency situations. For the last two years, I have been requesting the Dasarathapur tehsildar to take steps for construction of a road. However, there has been no action in this regard,” he alleged.
Following the incident, Kar directed sub-collector Tapas Ranjan Dehury to take immediate steps for construction of an approach road to the elderly man’s house.
