Redressal meet turns a grievance for differently-abled

If grievance meets organised by district administrations were all about pouring out your grievances, think again.

V Ilaaiyaraja (33), of Singathakurichi in Kulathur Taluk, and Mary, of Pon Pudupatti in Thirumayam taluk, realised in a rather unpleasant way that grievance meets were, after all, not what they seemed.

This reporter witnessed them being heckled and abused by a deputy tahsildar after they raised the issue of official apathy in pushing their files seeking disability assistance from the government.

After running from pillar to post for assistance from the government, the duo, both disabled, raked up the lethargic attitude of the government officials at the grievance meet in Pudukkottai Collectorate on Monday.

They complained to the Junior Rehabilitation Officer (JRO) that whenever they approached officials to enquire about their assistance prayer, they got the stereotype answers like ‘we are looking into the issue’. They said they had submitted petitions at the Collectorate at least 10 times in the past four years but to no avail.

They wanted to know how long they had to wait for a remedy.

In a sudden reaction to the query, the headquarters deputy tahsildar of Alangudi Taluk, Nagarajan, abused the duo and sought their personal details with a threat of severe punishment if they asked questions about the official inaction on their appeals for assistance from the government.

“We are government officials and we know when to provide assistance or not. You cannot raise questions like why assistance was not provided to you. If you raise this issue again, you will be punished. You have to be calm and wait for your turn, even it takes many years. We are the only decision making authorities,” the tahsildar retorted.

The response shocked the victims so much that they left the venue in a jiffy, with tears in their eyes and a fear of repercussions from the officials.

Although several officials of the district administration were present at the venue, none came forward to console the duo.

The routine grievance day meet, which began at 10.30 am, had many differently-abled persons submitting petitions seeking monthly assistance provided by the government through the welfare department.