'Not struggling, I am trying'

Says 107-yr-old bed-ridden freedom fighter from Andhra Pradesh, who has been waiting for his pension for last two months to pay medical bills; asserts he is only following Gandhi's advice
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"One should persevere and continue trying," MK Gandhi had told CHB Vitthaldas in 1938, when the freedom fighter met the Mahatma at Jinnah House.



Today, after spending 25 years struggling against a slothful bureacracy to get his pension, the 107-year-old from Nizamabad in Andhra Pradesh still has the Gandhian principle firmly etched in his mind.

For the last two months, his pension amount has not been credited to his bank account.

In government records, Vitthaldas is registered as a citizen who served the nation during its struggle for independence.

But now, when this son of soil is bent with age and in the throes of ill health, the nation seems to have forgotten its duty towards him.

Up until March last year, Vitthaldas used to come to Thane every month from his hometown.

He would camp at Masunda Lake and wait to collect his pension all because his account had not been transferred to his native town, despite his consistent requests for over two decades.

MiD DAY had earlier reported ('I am following Gandhi's advice') about the bureaucratic apathy towards Vitthaldas, when this reporter first met him at Masunda Lake.

With no relative in Mumbai or Thane, and unable to afford a hotel, he had to spend his time in the city by the lake, as he waited for the pension to be credited.

After this paper highlighted his plight, top political honchos, including Deputy Chief Minister Chhagan Bhujbal, intervened and his account was finally transferred to his hometown last year.


In the true spirit of those that fought for our freedom,
Vitthaldas hasn't given up despite living in miserable conditions

But today, Vitthaldas struggles on. Now that the account is in his hometown, the pension amount does not get credited on time, his kin said. For the last two months, he has not even received it.

Crisis continues
"He has been sick for almost nine months. His monthly medical bills run up to Rs 6,000-7,000. We cannot afford the cost of treatment without his pension, which hasn't been credited for the last two months.

We can only wait and hope as we have no money to take him to the hospital," said his 21-year-old grandson, Pawan Chilla, from Nizamabad, in a phone conversation with MiD DAY.

"His condition became critical last week. We admitted him to a nearby nursing home, but we had to get him discharged as we couldn't afford the treatment," said Omprakash, his son.

The government has now increased Vitthaldas' pension amount to Rs 8,000, which also goes towards the tuition fees of his grandson.

After the demise of one of his sons, two others, who are in the business of making photoframes, have been running the household. His family needs the pension.

But the odds have failed to shake the resolve of the man who participated inu00a0 satyagrahasu00a0 in Goa, Hyderabad and Nizamabad among others.
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"I am not struggling, I am trying," said a bed-ridden Vitthaldas feebly; he could barely speak.

The Other Side
"There is a process by which the amount is credited automatically to the beneficiary's account. I know Vitthaldas personally and I have great respect for him.
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I was not aware of his situation as nobody from his family informed me about it. During the I-Day celebrations, I will ask my deputy to resolve the issue at the earliest," said Thane District Collector AL Jarhad.

Ironically, the district administration of Thane had invited Vitthaldas to be part of the Indepedence Day celebrations.
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"We had invited him for the Independence Day celebrations but he could not come because he is unwell," said Jarhad.