Mrs. Asha Shaik was member of the Maruthi Swayam Sidhi Sangham in Garladinne village in the same mandal and was enrolled in the Abhayahastham pension scheme Thanks to her enrolment in the insurance scheme, her husband Mr. Mahaboob Basha Shaik was brought under the Aam Admi Bima Yojana (AABY) coverage.
The village is located on arterial National Highway – 7 which turned out to be the villain for her family. On the fateful day, she was travelling on two wheeler, on the highway when a speeding vehicle hit, leaving her with bleeding injuries. After initial treatment, she was rushed to Kurnool General Hospital but she passed away. Her mortal remains were brought back to the village for burial. Local Animator, Mrs Shakuntla, VO leader Mrs Vannuramma telephoned the Call Centre to inform the death of Mrs. Asha Shaik. It so happened that when the incident had taken place a new Bima Mithra had been appointed for the mandal and she was not yet allotted the ATM Card due to the procedural delay on the part of the local Bank. Due to this reason, the family was unable to get the immediate relief of Rs. 5,000.
However, things fell in place when the Bima Mithra with the help of the VO and Animator guided grieving Mr. Mahaboob Shaik Basha to prepare all the relevant documents to claim the accident insurance. The claim could not be processed due to delay in getting the death certificate from Kurnool The efforts of the IKP staff along with the family members ensured that Mr. Mahaboob Shaik Basha was able to access the insurance claim of Rs. 75,000. A sum of Rs. 1,186, which was the corpus fund of the deceased SHG member along with the Government contribution, was transferred online to the bank account of family members of Mrs. Asha Bee Shaik.
How the claim came to the rescue of the hapless family is described in the words of Mr Mahaboob Shaik Basha. “I am a daily wage labourer with meagre earnings of Rs. 150 a day. I had to take care of my three children aged 16 years, 13 years and six years respectively. I was shattered by her death. She not only left a void in our family but we also lost an earning member. When I was wondering, how to overcome the tragedy, the insurance claim came as a much needed relief,” he narrates.
He says: “The insurance money deposited in the bank account was used to purchase two sovereigns of gold for my eldest daughter’s marriage at a cost of Rs. 40,000 and Rs 5,000 was spent to buy silver ornaments. A sum of Rs. 26,000 was deposited in the savings bank account of my elder daughter for her marriage. Another Rs 5,000 was invested in my wife’s business while some money was spent for miscellaneous purpose.” The family is yet to overcome the loss suffered on account of Mrs Asha Bee Shaik’s death. “After her death my eldest daughter is now working as daily wage labourer in a flower shop to supplement the family income. I could have ended my life but for the financial assistance in the form of insurance claim. I feel confident now that I would be able to perform the marriage of my eldest daughter and give good education to the remaining two siblings,” Mr. Mahaboob Shaik Basha said with tears rolling down his cheeks.