The plight of a 65-year-old widow with a teenage granddaughter moved Collector P.S. Pradyumna at the Pakala mandal headquarters, 35 km from here, on Tuesday, when he was inspecting social welfare hostels as part of the Janmabhoomi-Mana Vooru programme.
While inspecting the upkeep of a hostel, the Collector sighted an elderly woman standing at a distance, and a teenage girl hiding behind her. The official gestured to the duo to come near him, when they were trying to move away from the venue.
The staff of the Social Welfare Department brought them to the Collector.
When Mr. Pradyumna asked her as to what she was doing on the hostel premises, she said that her name was Manjula, and that she kept working at the hostels at the mercy of the staff, who would provide her and her granddaughter something to eat. The woman said: “Thirteen years ago, my daughter was murdered by her husband for money.
The drunken man went absconding, leaving behind a baby. Since then, I have been raising the child, who is now studying 8th class. Though I am a Dalit and senior citizen with no financial background, I do not have any pension from the government. My efforts to get housing from government continues to remain a dream. My granddaughter would often skip school to assist me in doing odd works at hostels and the neighbourhood,” Ms. Manuja said.
The Collector instructed the revenue officials concerned to immediately process sanctioning of a housing unit to Majula, besides arranging widow pension.
He sought the Deputy Director (Social Welfare) Vijay Kumar to process admission of the teenage girl into the Social Welfare Hostel for Girls (SC) at Tirupati immediately.
