Odisha to provide Rs 10,000 per month to Padma winners facing

Odisha government Monday decided to provide Rs 10,000 per month to Padma award winners of the state facing financial problem, officials said.

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik approved such a proposal made by the state Culture department, they said.

Patnaik had earlier asked the Culture department to study the economic condition of Padma award winners of the state who are facing financial problem.

Four Padma Sri winners of the state - Haladhar Nag, Daitari Naik, Kamala Pujari and Jitendra Haripal - were in the news for their poor financial conditions.

Recently, 75-year-old tribal farmer Daitari Naik of Talabaitarani village in Keonojhar district, who was awarded the Padma Shri in 2018 for digging a 3-km long canal through a mountain in Odisha, had openly announced to return the award as he was not given work by the villagers after getting the award.

"People are not giving me any work as they think it is below my dignity," Naik had some time ago told reporters.

Similarly, the financial condition of Haladhar Nag, Jitendra Haripal and Kamala Pujari was also discussed in the media.

Officials said a total of 84 persons from the state have so far been honoured with Padma Sri award of whom 45 have passed away. Of the remaining 39 persons, financial condition of some is precarious.