Poor widow to get possession of her house, HRPF takes up matter, awareness needed

Poor widow to get possession of her house, HRPF takes up matter, awareness needed

Mangalore Today News Network

Mangaluru, July 28,2017: Reports confirm that Ravindranath Shanbhag, president of the Human Rights Protection Foundation (HRPF), said on July 27, Thursday that people, besides government officials, should ensure protection of rights of senior citizens.

Addressing a meet in Udupi, Dr. Shanbhag said that a poor old lady,  Sulochana Pai (71), had got an order from the Deputy Commissioner for the possession of her house at Kadtala village, Karkala taluk, and the authorities were ready for its implementation. But this matter and many such cases needs public support and raising of voices.

Giving the background of the case, he said that an old lady of the  Pai family, who was presemt, a resident of Kadtala, toiled as a cook and brought up her two sons, Ramakanth Pai and Bharath Pai. She built a house on five cents of land granted by the government with her hard earned money. She also got her two sons married.

The death of her husband, Janardhan Pai, in 2012, left Pai desolate. Both her sons yielded to alcoholism. Though they were earning sufficiently as lorry drivers, they pestered her for money.

When she refused, they drove her out of the house. Despite the house being in her name, Ramakanth did not allow her to stay there. Bharath occasionally visited his mother only to extort money from her. Lady Pai then took refuge in the house of her relative, Ramesh Nayak.

However,  Pai was left alone after the demise of Ramesh Nayak. In 2016, she complained to the police, who inquired into the matter. Ramakanth, who agreed to return the house to her, later refused.

In March 2016, she lodged a complaint with the Senior Citizens’ Tribunal with the help of HRPF.

After eight months of hearing, the tribunal ordered Ramakanth to provide maintenance of Rs. 6,000 per month to her. But he neither appeared for hearing nor paid the money. Since there was no clear order for the possession of house, Ms. Pai appealed to the Udupi Deputy Commissioner who ordered the Karkala Tahsildar to ensure the possession of the house to the former. Ms. Pai, who was seriously ill for the last four months, recovered under the care of HRPF and also underwent cataract operation. Since Ramakanth refused to vacate the house, the HRPF urged the Karkala Tahsildar to not only ensure possession of the house but also provide protection to her.

“She will get possession of the house in two or three days. We intend to sell the house and 27 cents of land in her husband’s name in Paniyur village so that she can stay in a Senior Citizens Home without having to face harassment from her sons,” Dr. Shanbhag said.