Green Card holders left in lurch

SAMBALPUR: For 50-year-old Indumati Sahu of Amripada area here it was a fight against the conservative ideas to gift her children a meaningful life, one that the Government promises for the Green Card holders. Standing up against the pressures put on her to beget more children, she has a son and a daughter, Indumati underwent tubectomy 25 years ago to end all the arguments. The Green Card given to her had promised a lot of largesse raising her ambitions and hopes. More than two decades after, the Green Card remains a mere piece of paper for her as she joins thousands of women in staging a demonstration in front of the collectorate on Thursday seeking benefits promised to the Green Card holders. Indumati like many of her ilk had fought for small and nuclear families going against the tradition and family ethos. They were made to believe that Green Card with its promised offer would help them realise ‘Chota Parivar, Sukhi Parivar’ but in vain. Maintaining that the failure of the State Government in the execution of the scheme and failure to deliver promised benefits have been reflecting on the success of family planning, Chandrakanti Rajhans (22) of Marangola village in the district said on one side the Government is worried about population  explosion and on the other it is not taking measures to control it. Deprived of the benefits hundreds of women, under the banner of Odisha Rajya Sabuja Patrika Dhari Sangh, took out a rally from Ainthapali Square to the collectorate, where they submitted a memorandum.  The protestors demanded immediate issuance of Green Cards to beneficiaries, allotment of eight decimal land to Green Card Holders, soft loans for construction of houses, inclusion under Rashtriya Swastiya Bima Yojana and financial assistance of Rs 500 to Green Card holders above the age of 60. The protestors also demanded 10 per cent reservation in educational institutions from the next academic session. The government should offer more to ensure that people opt for nuclear families and assure a better life to their children.