This story is from January 20, 2022

Ahmedabad: Lost job, dad to Covid, ex gratia too eludes man

For Shashikant Pujara, a resident of Satellite, the ex gratia of Rs 50,000 will not be enough to compensate for the great loss of his father who succumbed to Covid-19 in May last year. His application was rejected. But he said that it is not about the money alone.
Ahmedabad: Lost job, dad to Covid, ex gratia too eludes man
Shashikant with his father Baldev Pujara who succumbed to Covid last May
AHMEDABAD: For Shashikant Pujara, a resident of Satellite, the ex gratia of Rs 50,000 will not be enough to compensate for the great loss of his father who succumbed to Covid-19 in May last year. His application was rejected. But he said that it is not about the money alone.
"Six of my family members had tested positive during the second wave," said Pujara.
"Because of the economic downturn, I lost my job in 2021 and now supply disinfectants to various establishments."
He added: "If I get Rs 50,000, it will aid my mother in her old age and she can be self-reliant in any eventuality."
Many city-based social workers said that those needing compensation did not know how to fill up the forms.
Thus, help desks of sorts with scanners for documents and internet connections had been set up by a few political leaders and social workers.
Attempts to reach revenue minister Rajendra Trivedi and health minister Rushikesh Patel failed despite several attempts on Wednesday. Sources aware of developments, however, said that small discrepancies or the lack of documents draw prompt rejections. They said often the applicants are in the dark about the reason for the rejection.

"I have my ailing mother to take care of. Even that much amount can give us some respite as we have gone through a lot in the past one year due to the pandemic," said Vishal Sanghvi, whose application was also rejected. The claim was denied though the death certificate issued by a private hospital mentions Covid-19 as the cause of death.
For Mahendra Parmar, a resident of Bharuch, it was a double whammy. "I initially started the procedure by physically submitting the documents," Parmar said. "When I did not hear from the teams, I approached them again and they asked me to apply online." He added: "I had to seek someone's help to fill up the form. But even then, the claim has been denied. I am yet to know the reason."
The number of applications seeking Covid-19 ex gratia payment of Rs 50,000 exceeded Gujarat's official Covid death toll of 10,094 (till January 16) by nine times, the state government informed the Supreme Court. In its compliance report, the state government submitted to the apex court that it has, till January 16, received 89,633 applications from relatives of Covid-19 victims seeking compensation.
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About the Author
Parth Shastri

Parth Shastri is senior correspondent at The Times of India, Ahmedabad. He reports on crime as well as issues related to traffic in the city, forensic investigation, archaeology and emergency medical services.

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