Odisha's Dana Majhi, who drew sympathy, receives donations

Bhubaneswar, Sep 16: Dana Majhi, a poor tribal from Odisha who drew sympathy after he had to walk over 10 km carrying his dead wife on shoulder, is now a millionaire with donations and help pouring in including from Bahrain prime minister.

A little bewildered by the turn of events and the sudden attention on him and one who candidly says he does not know what one lakh means, Majhi, who hails from remote Melaghar village in Kalahandi district, has seen his kitty swell to Rs 15 lakh.

But he sorely misses his wife. After the incident that sparked an outrage and pushed him into limelight, Majhi's three daughters are being provided free education by Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences (KISS) at its residential school here.

The latest contribution to Majhi's kitty was an amount of Rs 8.87 lakh, a gift from Prime Minister of Bahrain Prince Khalifa Bin Salman Al Khalifa.

He collected a cheque for the amount from officials of Bahrain embassy in Delhi yesterday. Majhi told reporters that he would deposit the money in the bank for his three daughters for their future use.

Majhi, who has been getting help from many quarters ever since August 24 when he walked carrying his wife's body on his shoulder from a hospital as he was unable to get a hearse, said he was told that Bahrain prince donated the money after learning about his tragedy.

He had earlier received an assistance of Rs 5 lakh and Rs 10,000 every month for education of his daughters from Sulabh International.

The Sulabh International made fixed deposits in Majhi's bank account which will mature five years hence on September 3, 2021. "Dana Majhi will get a sum of Rs 7,33,921 after five years at the interest rate of 7.5 per cent," a bank official said today.

PTI