Dr Anil Kumar Pathak, an IAS officer who is the District Magistrate of Faizabad, is known for going the extra mile and leaving no stone unturned to help people in need.
From abandoned old women to young children who have lost their parents—Dr Anil Kumar Pathak, an IAS officer who is the District Magistrate of Faizabad, is known for going the extra mile and leaving no stone unturned to help people in need.
Take, for example, the case of Mahendra Kumar, a farmer from the Rampur Maya village in Uttar Pradesh. Kumar drowned in a lake in 2016 and was survived by his wife, Gayatri Devi and three children. Gayatri filed an insurance claim but unfortunately lost her life in a road accident, before she could receive the money.
The three children, all minors, were orphaned and would have been left without any financial support if not for Dr Pathak.
Speaking to Navbharat Times, the DM said that the insurance amount has been approved and he has stepped in as the guardian of the children to ensure that it reaches them. For this purpose, he has directed his assistant to open a bank account for them and oversee the proceedings which will allow the insurance money to get transferred there.
In January this year, he adopted Ramapati, a 100-year-old widow. “I have adopted her, and I am taking care of her as my mother. I have ordered a house under Pradhan Mantri Aawas Yojna in her village, old age pension, BPL ration card and a doctor from nearest community health centre visits her daily for her regular health checkups,” the DM told the New Indian Express.
This is not all. Earlier this month, the DM made news when he performed the last rites of an abandoned old lady he found on the streets.
When he first saw her, the woman was gravely injured and was possibly beaten up by someone. He took her to a hospital and oversaw her treatment. When asked about her family or kin, the woman did not reveal any names.
Speaking to NIE, Pathak said, “I don’t know in what circumstances she was lying wounded on the roadside. Even in one month of her treatment, no one turned up to claim her, nor a report of missing of any old woman was filed in any police station in the district.”
Unfortunately, the woman succumbed to her injuries after over a month.
Since she had no family, Dr Pathak took it upon himself to perform her last rites.
“I consider it my duty. She was not in her senses and was abandoned. She had no one to perform her last rites.
It gives me immense satisfaction that I could become a medium to facilitate her last journey,” he said.
Pathak does not only take care of destitute people. Last week, he was approached by a farmer complaining about the filth in his village. Deciding against delivering a sermon, Dr Pathak reached the village, took a broom and began to sweep the roads. He was soon joined by the villagers, who have hopefully understood that a joint effort goes a long way when it comes to maintaining public spaces. While these gestures have earned him widespread praise, Dr Pathak remains unfazed and attributes his helpful nature to the “humane upbringing” which he received from his parents.
(Edited by Gayatri Mishra)
Article Source: The Better India