Kolkata: “My brother gave his life for the country. And our government wants me to work as a home guard for the rest of my life. How absurd is that,” the disappointment in the voice of 15-year old Barun Dalui was hard to miss.
A student of class XI and son of a daily wage earner, Barun is the younger brother of Sepoy Gangadhar Dolui who was martyred in the Uri attack on 18 September. Barun aspires to have a central government job someday. “The present job offer from the Bengal government is disrespectful of our family,” he maintained.
State chief minister Mamata Banerjee has offered two lakh rupees as compensation and a job of home guard to the next of kin of the two bereaved families of Uri martyrs in West Bengal - those of Gangadhar Dolui in Howrah and Biswajit Ghorai in South 24 Parganas.
“This government pays two lakh rupees to those who die after consuming illicit liquor. It has put Gangadhar in the same category,” rued Debabrata Dolui, Gangadhar’s uncle. “The chief minister should consider enhancing that amount in view of the fact that this was no ordinary death,” he added.
In stark comparison with Bengal, the governments of UP and Rajasthan have announced compensation of 20 lakh rupees each to the families of Uri martyrs. While Jharkhand government has promised 10 lakh rupees, the Nitish Kumar government in Bihar has raised the compensation from 5 lakhs to 11 lakh rupees after relatives refused to accept the initial amount.
At Jamuna Balia village in the Jagatballavpur area of Howrah in Bengal, neighbours of the Doluis expressed similar sentiments to that of the family members. One of them claimed that Onkarnath, Gangadhar’s father, had to borrow money from relatives to complete the martyr’s final rites. “Yes, I had to do that. But I don’t want to speak about it. It is a personal matter,” Onkarnath confirmed.
Onkarnath, a farm labourer, earns between 170-200 rupees a day and has work for about 20 days a month. With Gangadhar’s passing, Onkarnath is the only earning member of the family of three and has to take care of his younger son’s education.
Standing in front of his dilapidated single storey tiled house Onkarnath said: “I don’t care about the money they give. I only hope for a bank job for my younger son after he finishes studies. That was the dream of my elder son and I want to see that fulfilled.” When asked whether he is considering refusal to accept the government compensation, Onkarnath chose not to reply.
“The family is already under political pressure for speaking their mind about the compensation. That’s why they are not so forthcoming anymore,” a neighbour, requesting anonymity, whispered.
The state government is yet to update its stand on the issue.
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