Check for Rs 3.00 as Diwali Gift? F***ing Ridiculous

IBN Live reports.

Says a farmer, Munna, “We’ll not celebrate Diwali. No one will light candles or diyas and there is no food. People are dying of hunger here.”

The meagre compensation these farmers have received for the drought situation they have been facing since 2003 has robbed them of all sparkle this festive season.

The Uttar Pradesh government’s relief cheques that are as low as Rs 3 have left these farmers checkmated – literally – for banks don’t encash cheques that are less than Rs 100.

Says Munna, “The government has done nothing for us. Crops have dried up and farmers are dying.”

And it’s not just the compensation amount that’s making a mockery of their plight.

This is what Munna will have to do to encash his cheque of Rs 35. He will have to spend Rs 50 to travel to the district headquarters, where the revenue officer is likely to charge him Rs 200 for accepting the cheque.

He will then have to put in another Rs 250 to open a bank account. Little wonder that Munna prefers to leave the ‘compensation’ cheque untouched.

…

The irony of the entire situation is that some of the Rs 3 cheques that were issued cost Rs 4 to print – which is more than the compensation amount.

One wonders who to pity at this time – the poor farmer who is the recipient of this pittance or the socialist government of the state of Uttar Pradesh which is bursting a two-kilometer long cracker to celebrate this Diwali.

Watch the video here
Link via atlantean

Pathetic state of affairs I must say. :(

October 20, 2006 · Ajit · 5 Comments
Posted in: Diwali, Famine, India, Poverty

5 Responses

  1. Indiamusing - October 21, 2006

    Thank you for pointing out to such issues. Giving money through cheques is a good thing since it keeps the system clear and brings accountability but someone should have thought about the overall solution and not just one part of the solution. Maybe SBI or some of the nationalised banks should help farmer open accounts free when compensation like this is given. I also blog @ indiamusing.blogspot.com.

  2. Apun Ka Desh - October 21, 2006

    This is a big joke. In all probability the money was eaten away be intermediaries and clerks. Even to get these Rs, Rs 10 cheques, farmers were in all probability been forced to pay bribes.

    Is this what govt. service is all about? What a shame.

  3. Polite Indian - October 21, 2006

    Indiamusing:
    I don’t think the issue here is whther the bank allows opening free accounts for these farmers. The biggest shocker to me is, how can someone even come with an idea of issuing a check in the amount of Rs. 3.00? What kind of relief can that provide? It is a display of the fact that the govt. really doesn’t care about people.

    Apun Ka Desh:
    It is indeed a big joke and that too a cruel one. I agree that the money has been eaten away by the officials…people with no conscience whatsoever.

  4. Sunita - October 23, 2006

    It surely is a shame to the people of the country and even more to the government who printed these petty cheques.

  5. Diwali Blog Digest - Check for Rs 3.00 as Diwali Gift? F***ing Ridiculous - October 27, 2006

    [...] The Uttar Pradesh government’s relief che … Posted by Polite IndianNice postLink to original article [...]

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