A lottery salesman ended his life by setting himself on fire in Pathanamthitta after a delay in the construction of his house under the Life Mission scheme. The Omallur panchayat has speeded up efforts to grant Rs 2 lakh to the deceased Gopi's family.
Pathanamthitta: In a terrible instance, a lottery salesman set himself on fire since his house under the state government's Life Mission Scheme was not completed. The deceased is recognised as Gopi, a native of Omallur. Gopi conveyed in a note his dissatisfaction with the unfulfilled promise of his home, which he received through the government's Life Mission Scheme. The panchayat authorities halted funding, he claimed, which caused delays in the house's construction.
"I've come to the conclusion that those who fail don't deserve to live, so I'm taking my own life. Because of the financial crisis, house construction is still ongoing. Before Onam, I made the raw material purchases for my concrete project. However, the work's subsequent installment has not yet received approval. I'm sorry to everyone," Gopi wrote.
Gopi, a kidney patient, was residing in a temporary dwelling near his newly built home. He desired to bring his ailing wife to the new house. His wife moved in with their daughter after having her leg amputated.
The family says that Gopi went to the panchayat office several times to get the remaining amount for the house construction and ended her life due to depression. The construction of the house started in April. Rs 2 lakh have been received so far. Due to the financial crisis, the Panchayat did not pay the remaining amount.
Following the suicide of the Life Mission beneficiary, the government has speeded up the steps to allot Rs 2 lakh more to Gopi's family under the scheme through the HUDCO loan immediately. The officials of Life Mission informed Omallur panchayat about this. The emergency panchayat committee will also meet soon. Panchayat has also started trying to give more money to the family by collecting CSR funds.
Owing to financial difficulty, according to Omallur panchayat president Johnson Vilavinal, the panchayat was unable to distribute the grant.
