A new service in the basket, Umri Panchyat, Madhya Pradesh
Charo Oraon is 60-year-old man who lives in Bhandra village of Itki block in Ranchi, Jharkhand, with his wife, two sons, and a daughter-in-law married to his elder son, and two grandchildren. He has a daughter, too, who is now married and lives with her extremely supportive in-laws, her husband and two children.
At home, things are not too good for Charo. Charo and his wife’s age are not their friends anymore. While he can’t move without the support of a walking stick, his elder son suffers from paralyses, his daughter-in-law has to take care for her husband and sons, and his younger son is an alcoholic who spends all his earnings on liquor. And so, the entire burden of the family lies on his aging shoulders. Though they are an agricultural family, they do not have too much land to claim as their own. Whatever little land they had, an acre of it was sold off at the time of his son’s marriage. The remaining land is not really profitable due to poor soil quality and lack of irrigation.
Some time ago, Charo happened to meet a Soochna Sevak who learnt of his ordeal and asked his wife to collate all relevant documents to apply for an old age pension scheme. Meanwhile, the team counseled his younger son and showed him the incentives of quitting alcohol. He’s not yet convinced but efforts are underway. The Soochna Seva team has also been providing information to Charo and his wife on what crops require less water than others, so that the couple are not limited to crops that can only been grown during the monsoon season while being left with nothing the rest of the year.
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