JORHAT, April 9 � In response to an appeal made by a 68-year-old ailing artist, the Prime Minister�s Office offered a financial aid of Rs 50,000, which has come as a temporary relief for his little family living in a thatched house on a squalid campus located near the DCB Road here.
As artist Ramani Khaund has been down with paralysis for the past several years, he can neither earn nor move without the help of his wife or son. Due to financial bankruptcy, his wife and only son had to struggle a lot to pay the monthly house rent of Rs 1,000 for a single room.
The family has neither any residence nor any land here despite the fact that Khaund was born into a wealthy family. Family members said that all his savings were exhausted due to his treatment and the parental property was also sold years ago.
�He worked in dramatic productions and had been an organiser of various programmes. But his name was not included for any pension scheme of the State Government after he had been bedridden due to paralysis. At this hour of crisis, the financial help provided by Prime Minister Modiji has come as some relief for our family,� said Rupa Khaund, wife of the ailing artist.
The family members thanked ward commissioner Jayanta Borkakoty of Ward No. 11 of the Jorhat Municipal Board, who placed the case of the family before Jorhat MP Kamakhya Tasa. Tasa, in turn, suggested them to write for the help from the PMO.
Khaund�s family also thanked the MP.
After receiving the letter from the artist, the PMO sought a report from the Jorhat district administration which confirmed that the family was in need of help from the Government.
Several residents of the locality expressed their gratitude to the Prime Minister as it was the first instance of providing direct help to a needy citizen of Jorhat by the PMO.
�We never saw such an instance of providing financial help by the Office of the Prime Minister to a person directly here. The PMO�s response to the appeal of the ailing artist is good news for all of us,� said 83-year-old Bhobesh Khaund, a local resident here.
