JAIPUR: A group of silicosis patients will sit on indefinite dharna outside the office of the Jodhpur district collector from Friday. The patients are seeking that the government release compensation money in time, since they suffer a disease that cannot be cured. Also, they want the government to release the full amount of Rs 4 lakh while they are still alive. At present, the government offers Rs1 lakh to a patient once he receives a certificate from the Pneumoconiosis Board showing he or she has tested positive for silicosis. Rs3 lakh is given to kin once the patient dies.

“Why wait until we die? The money should be given to us while still alive, so we can use it to prolong our lives and increase the quality of lives of our families,” says Mangi Lal from Shergarh tehsil of Jodhpur district, who has received Rs1 lakh after testing positive for silicosis. Chotu Ram from Balesar, who has been aiding patients in following up with the government on when the money will be released, said, “There are those who received certificates of silicosis three years ago who have still not received money. That is why we have decided to sit on dharna.” Read more

Courtesy: The Times of India