Odisha woman sarpanch begs for a living

Her husband works as a peon in the panchayat office and collects the honorarium due to her

The word sarpanch conjures up the image of rural authority, a person solving problems of villagers and getting development works executed. But in a mockery of both the privilege and the grass roots governance system supposed to empower the disadvantaged, a sarpanch in Odisha’s Ganjam district has been found begging for her survival.

Hema Naik, the woman sarpanch of Badapalli panchayat under Khallikote block of Ganjam district, has been seeing going from house to house seeking alms.

Ms. Naik belongs to the scheduled caste community. She became sarpanch of Badapalli, a predominantly tribal panchayat, after the post was reserved for women scheduled caste candidates.