Maner resident Juga Devi at Patna collectorate on Thursday. Picture by Jai Prakash

Patna, Aug. 4: At 70, Juga Devi, a mother of five sons, was forced to knock on the door of the district magistrate’s (DM) office today, seeking help to meet her medical expenditure.

She did not have any other option as her second son Pawan Kumar, a teacher at Grameen Madhya Vidyalaya, Maner, refused to bear her expenses citing financial constraints. He showed her the door despite getting the job on compassionate ground, after the death of his father 18 years ago.

Narrating her plight to DM Sanjay Kumar Singh during his janata darbar at Patna Collectorate, Juga Devi made a humble request: “Sir, do not take any harsh action against my son.” The predicament of the mother was evident. She did not want to complain against Pawan (43) but did not know who to go to for help.

“I am facing so many problems. I don’t have any financial support and my son who has got the job of my husband on compassionate ground does not allow me to stay in his house. Where am I supposed to go? He is the only son who can take care of my medicine expenditure,” said Juga Devi.

The hapless mother is, at present, staying with her third son, Shravan Kumar, who is a driver and earns Rs 2,000 to Rs 3,000 per month. Pawan, who earns around Rs 25,000 a month, is also entitled to medical benefits for his parents under the government job. “It is really painful to complain against my own son whom I gave birth to and provided quality education so that he can get a good job. After the death of my husband, I told rest of my sons that he should get his job on compassionate ground. I also took care of his three children during my stay at his house but still he threw me out of his house,” Juga Devi told the DM.

“I don’t know what forced him to behave like this with me. Kindly, do not take any harsh action against him, I don’t want him to land in any trouble,” she added.

Singh, after listening to the complaint, immediately asked the officer concerned to send a notice to Pawan, seeking an explanation for his poor conduct with his mother.

“We have decided to send a notice to the son because the job given on compassionate ground clearly states that the beneficiary should take the responsibility of the dependants and if he does not follow the rule, he has to lose his job,” Singh said. “It is really disappointing that today’s children do not take responsibility of their parents. They just think about the present comfort and forget that it can happen to them too,” he added.