Padma Shri awardee Daitari Naik, who claims he is struggling to make ends meet, has denied reports that he is planning to return the prestigious award.
Known as the ‘Canal Man of Odisha’, Naik was awarded the Padma Shri for single-handedly carving a three-kilometre-long canal from a mountain stream in Odisha.
The clarification from Naik on Saturday came after reports surfaced of him planning to return the honour as he has not got any aid from the government.
“Though I am facing difficulty in day to day life, there is no question of returning the award. The government must make efforts to reconstruct the canal so that all the villagers can be benefited,” he said.
“The award was given to me for my hard work and it is a matter of pride for me and my family. Why will I return it?”
Naik also denied reports that he was eating ant eggs for survival. “I never ate ant eggs because I am not a non-vegetarian. All this is false and fabricated news.”
Ashis Thakre, Keonjhar District Collector, has denied reports that Naik was reeling under poverty. “He and his wife are getting old age pension under Madhu Babu Pension Yojana. He had already been assisted under the Rural Housing scheme in the year 2013-14. His two sons have also been allotted two houses under Rural Housing in the year 2017-18 He has been covered under State governments Farmers Assistance Scheme-KALIA and has received the financial assistance. I request not to insult the Padma Shree awardee by creating such fabricated news,” Thakre said.
Phulbani: Two tribal men were sentenced to life imprisonment by a special court in Odisha's…
New Delhi: It’s been just over two months since Atishi took oath as Delhi’s chief…
Bhubaneswar: In a moment of pride for AIIMS Bhubaneswar, Dr Manita Tamang, a final-year Senior…
Imphal: In view of the surge in violence in troubled Manipur, the Central government will send…
New Delhi/Bhubaneswar: The 7th edition of Odisha Parba got off to a colourful start in…
Mumbai: Celebrity couple Naga Chaitanya and Sobhita Dhulipala are set to walk down the aisle…
Mumbai: Ticket sales for the highly-anticipated Coldplay Infinity concerts across Indian cities kickstarted at 12…
New Delhi: As part of preparations for a trip to Nainital, a man ordered a pack…