By IANS
Ranchi : A father and a son suffering from malaria lost their lives in a Jharkhand village as they could not afford the expenses of their treatment.
Sanjay, 25 died on Sunday while his father Kalicharan Lohra, 50 passed away on Saturday night at Hethia village, around 12 km from here.
The family had no food or money for medicines.
“My husband and son were suffering for a long time. They could not be treated for want of money. We did not get food grains from the public distribution system (PDS). When my husband and son were ill, they used to get meal once in two or three days,” Basanti Devi, Kalicharan’s wife, said.
K.K. Rajhansh, circle officer, who investigated the family’s Antoydaya card (card for the poor), said no food grains were given to the family after last December. “The PDS shop did not distribute food grains and the matter has been reported to the deputy commissioner,” said Rajhansh.
Ranchi deputy commissioner V.K. Chaube suspended the licence of the PDS shop and sought an explanation from the owner.
About 54 percent of the population in the state lives below the poverty line. Large-scale corruption is prevalent in distribution of food grains to people covered under the Antodaya Yojna.
Jharkhand’s Food and Supply Minister Kamlesh Singh had earlier admitted corruption in distribution of food grains but nothing was done to streamline the system.