Kendrapara: A septuagenarian woman recently donated Rs 50,000 to the Lord Jagannath Temple at Puri.
The woman who gets a pension of Rs 300 a month had collected the money by begging. She has also withdrawn some amount from her savings bank account.
Sarojini Dash, wife of late Sridhar Dash, is a resident of Jagulaipada in Rajkanika block. The childless woman lives on alms.
“My husband was the adopted son of Parameshswar Dash. But after the untimely demise of my father-in-law, my grandfather-in-law sold his land to a fellow villager. We were forced to stay in a hut on a piece of land that belonged to my father-in-law. My husband died young,” Sarojini said.
Due to penury Sarojini could not repair her mud-baked hut. The walls of her hut crumbled in the recent rains and she became homeless. Later, she took shelter on the verandahs of her neighbours. Some people had grabbed her land years back.
After sometime, a youth volunteered to take care of her and she trusted him. But the youth stole her savings and fled.
The sarpanch of Jagulaipada and other locals came to her rescue and gave her a room at the Panchayat office. She started earning her bread by begging from door to door in the locality.
The sarpanch helped her in enrolling her name as a beneficiary under NFSA ration card and also facilitated her to get old age pension.
“I used to save money I earned by begging, and every month I used to deposit my pension money in the bank. When I came to know that I had Rs 50,000 in my account, I decided to donate it to the Jagannath Temple as I do not have anybody in this world,” said the widow.