Susmita Malakar, a housewife of Sasankhala village under the Chaparerpar-1 Gram Panchayat in Alipurduar district, has urged the state government to either provide her a job or give her permission to die with all of her four family members.
When she called the ‘Didi ke bolo’ helpline number yesterday, she told the person at the other end of the line that her family had been going through a severe financial crisis after her husband Pradip Malakar was injured in a motorcycle accident in 2016.
“I also requested the government to grant all the members of my family permission to kill ourselves together if I was not given a job,” Mrs Malakar said.
It learnt that Pradip Malakar used to own a small jewellery shop near his house in Alipurduar town before he met with the accident in 2016.
“He had to undergo three major operations after the accident,” sources said. The family members claimed that they sold a portion of their land and gold jewellery to meet the expenses for the treatment of the only bread earner of the family. “We are now in debt, and we have nothing to live on,” Mrs Malakar said.
“I have only Rs 200 in hand at present. I stopped sending my only little son to school as I failed to pay the fees for the last few months,” she added.
It is learnt that Mr Malakar was responding well to treatment, but that he was not able to go to the hospital in Bangalore for regular check-up as advised by the doctors due to lack of money.
“I am learning of the matter from you. The family never came to see me. I will take necessary action if they approach the administration. We are here to solve the problems of the people,” said Alipurduar District Magistrate, Surendra Kumar Meena, when asked to comment on the matter.
It is learnt that the couple has a five-year-old son, while Mr Malakar’s mother also lives with them.