Chhendiapada: For transgender Chinmayee from Jarpada area in Angul district, it was a dream come true as none other than Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik Friday called her up to thank her for extraordinary work.
During the second wave of the pandemic, Chinmayee is the go-to person in her area to cremate bodies of Covid victims. Recognising her noble work, the Chief Minister not only called her but also heaped praise on her through a tweet.
Chinmayee’s mobile phone rang at 12:07pm. She was on cloud nine after learning that the person talking to her is Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik himself.
“The conversation lasted about 40 seconds. The Chief Minister said I have set an example for others by cremating bodies of poor and helpless people. He termed what I am doing is a source of inspiration for others,” Chinmayee said.
“The appreciation is obviously encouraging. The fact that the Chief Minister himself called me will keep encouraging me to work for poor and helpless even more seriously,” she added.
Naveen apart, several other political leaders and administrative officers including IPS officers Arun Bothra and Narasingh Bhol have also lauded Chinmayee for going out of her way to give Covid victims a decent funeral.
A native of Jagatsinghpur district, Chinmayee has been living in Jarpada area for the last few years. She has a small ladies corner in Jarpada market. It has been her practice to keep a portion of her earnings for the distressed and neglected.
Prior to Covid outbreak, she used to divide her time between managing her shop and serving patients. Seeing family members, relatives turning away from performing last rites of their near and dear ones who die of Covid, she came forward to cremate them.
Whenever her help is required to cremate a Covid victim’s body, she appears at the family’s doorstep and does everything starting from putting the body on a bier to setting the pyre on fire. For this, she never receives even a rupee from anyone, she claims.
PNN