A glitch not to stop him from trying his luck

KATTAPPANA: Mammen George, a daily labourer in Kanchiyar near Kattappana, could not believe his eyes when he saw the Kerala lottery ad in the newspaper declaring his ticket number TH339602 as the second prize winner of Thiruvonam bumper last year.But as luck would have it, Mamman could never lay his hands on the Rs1 crore due to him because of what the Lottery Department termed as a ‘clerical mistake’. Almost a year has passed, and Mammen is still waiting for some compensation from the government. Meanwhile, the State Lotteries Department has sent a recommendation to the government requesting that Mammen be given a Rs 10 lakh as compensation. However, the Finance Department is yet to take any action regarding this.The result of the Thiruvonam bumper last year came out with much cheer for Mammen, a bachelor who does not have a house or land of his own. He rechecked the ticket with the agent in Kattappana and confirmed the result. Ready with a PAN card and a number of plans in mind, Mammen waited for a month. Finally he got a letter from the Directorate of Lottery stating that he was not the actual winner and that this ticket number appeared due to a clerical mistake. The letter said he was not eligible for any compensation since the ticket number appeared in the gazette was the correct one. The department suspended four officials for the mistake.Recently, Mammen met Chief Minister Oommen Chandy during his mass contact programme in Idukki and submitted an application. “Roshy Augustine MLA also promised that he would do the needful. He said that I would get Rs 10 lakh as compensation,” Mammen said. Mammen who is a daily labourer in Kanchiyar, stays with his brother’s family.A senior official of the Directorate of Lottery has confirmed that the department had sent a recommendation to the State Government to allow Rs 10 lakh compensation to Mammen.“I heard that they have cut short the amount to Rs1 lakh. But the Finance Department is yet to pass an order in this regard,” the officer said.The lottery ticket has always been a companion to Mammen. “I always take the Sikkim lottery. I even got Rs 5,000 twice that helped me meet my medical expenses when I was suffering from pneumonia,” he said.Mammen is not ready to give up his habit of buying lotteries though he had a bitter experience. “I never miss bumper lotteries,” he said with a smile.