Man begins long-awaited repair of his house

52-year-old Ganesh Baskey had given up all hopes of repairing his house. Barely being able to make ends meet, repair of his dilapidated house with leaking roofs had become a dream.

With the monsoon a few months away, he was spending sleepless nights. However, all this changed with the Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee deciding to pitch in and pay the MGNREGA dues from the state coffers. After receiving the payments, he immediately took up the repair work. Overwhelmed, Baskey has thanked the Mamata Banerjee-led state government after receiving the pending dues of almost two years. With the money deposited in his bank account, Baskey withdrew the amount on Friday. He now plans to buy corrugated sheets with this amount to replace his leaking roof. “Our Chief Minister understands the suffering of poor people like us. I can now repair my house. Due to severe illness I can’t work anymore,” said Baskey. His wife, Talamani Murmu runs the family by working on other people’s land. The couple have a 13-year-old daughter and a 7-year-old son.

“We received Rs 3500 in the bank account from the state,” said Talamani. Sunita Barman, local Trinamool Congress Panchayat member, said that the man used to inquire about money for 100 days’ work regularly. “Now he is happy to have the money in his bank account,” Barman said.

The total number of valid job card holders in South Dinajpur is 99659. A total amount of Rs 37,05, 71, 831 has been allotted to pay the pending 100 day work amounts. District Magistrate Bijin Krishna said: “BDOs and SDOs have been directed across the district to ensure that the valid job card holders of the district get their dues in their bank accounts.”