Bhattacharya146;s burden

Rarely does the fate of one family reflect, in a microcosm, the fate of a state. Consider the privations the Patna-based Bhattacharya family...

Rarely does the fate of one family reflect, in a microcosm, the fate of a state. Consider the privations the Patna-based Bhattacharya family has had to suffer 8212; and continues to suffer to this day 8212; and the full extent of the unconscionable manner the Bihar government has treated its laid-off PSU workers comes through in graphic detail. Since 1993, Parijat Bhattacharya has not been paid by the Bihar State Agro Industries Corporation. In these ten years, he lost two sons 8212; one choosing to end his life to highlight the condition of families like his. His wife succumbed to cancer and he himself is today at death8217;s door with cancer. Yet the money that should have come his way years ago still eludes him.

It8217;s ironic, indeed, that even the Supreme Court8217;s action directing the state government to deposit Rs 50 crore as interim relief within two months of the order before the Patna High Court for disbursal to the 12,000 unpaid state employees, has not helped Bhattacharya and others like him. Five months have gone by, but the relief that the apex court had intended to provide the affected workers remains on paper, even as the embattled families continue their hand-to-mouth existence. They say justice delayed is justice denied. But what do they say about justice delivered that remains denied? Given the numbers involved and the extent of their suffering, one would have imagined that the system would have at least shaken off some of its notorious sloth and hunkered down to provide immediate relief to these people. Bhattacharya believes that relief will reach him only after he is dead and a sadder comment on the state of things would be difficult to devise.

This newspaper has been following the story of Bihar8217;s bloodless murder since August 2002. It had painstakingly unearthed the stories, not just of the Bhattacharyas but of numerous others like them. Stories of abject despair, deprivation and often death. The Supreme Court directive in May came like a light at the end of a long, dark tunnel. Tragically, the brief jubilation of that moment has also been snuffed out. It appears that the saga of Bihar8217;s bloodless murder is a never ending one.