Kendrapara: Sarpanch Chittaranjan Behera is different from other Panchayat Raj Institution (PRI) members. He lends his hand to ensure that government schemes reach the doorsteps of intended beneficiaries and believes that it is his duty to help the people of his panchayat meet exigencies.
Behera, 47, is the sarpanch of Bhagabatpur Panchayat Samiti. He hogged limelight by becoming a Good Samaritan to two farmers by helping them harvest their paddy.
Sources said that Behera helped to harvest the paddy of widow Minati Das, 58, of Banahara village and Ratnakar Behera.
Minati Das said, “I am a share cropper and cultivated paddy on two acres. I was planning to harvest it with my son. If the harvest gets delayed the paddy plants would fall on the field and get lost. But my only son Srada Prasanna Das contracted typhoid. I do not have money for hiring labourers for harvesting the paddy as my only income is the widow pension of Rs 300. I was spending sleepless nights thinking how to harvest the paddy.”
“When I went to collect my pension from the Bhagabatpur panchayat office I told my problem to Sarpanch Chittaranjan Behera and asked for some money to hire labourers. The Sarpanch assured me that he would look into the matter,” said Minati.
To her surprise Behera came to her house wearing a white dhoti and gamuchha and asked her to come with him to harvest the paddy.
“At first I thought the sarpanch was joking. But later I and the sarpanch and another man started harvesting the paddy. For three days the sarpanch worked on my field for around three hours a day cutting the crop,” added Minati.
The sarpanch is also helping to harvest two and a half acres of paddy of Ratnakar Behera, 50, of Shyamsundarpur village as he was injured in a cycle accident.
Ratnakar was worried about harvesting his paddy crop. When he came to know about the matter the sarpanch volunteered to help Ratnakar’s son harvest the crop.
“Coming from a farmer’s family I know farming. I came to know that two people of my panchayat were worried as their crop is likely to get lost. So I decided to help them,” said Chittaranjan Behera.
Chittaranjan’s wife Bijayalaxmi Behera is happy with her husband. She encourages her husband to help the needy.
PNN