MP woman dies after standing in queue for '2 days' to get fertiliser; BJP MLA questions government

Guna: The family members of a 58-year-old tribal woman on Thursday alleged that she died after standing in a queue for two consecutive days to obtain fertiliser from a distribution centre in Madhya Pradesh's Guna district. The incident occurred late on Wednesday at the Bagri fertiliser distribution centre, and the woman was identified as Bhuriya Bai from Kushepur village.

Following her death, a BJP MLA questioned his party-led government in the state over the fertiliser distribution system.

The woman's family members said she had been standing in a queue at the warehouse for two consecutive days to get fertiliser, even staying there overnight after spending an entire day in line. She began vomiting and was rushed to a hospital where doctors declared her dead, a family member said.

Talking to reporters, Guna Collector Kishore Kumar Kanyal said that as per the initial information, the woman suffered from diabetes. "Her condition deteriorated suddenly while she was standing in the queue for a long time, after which she died," he said.

Kanyal visited Kushepur village with former minister Mahendra Singh Sisodia and met the woman's family.

Guna MP and Union minister Jyotiraditya Scindia expressed grief over the woman's death and directed officials to provide immediate assistance to the family, while Guna BJP MLA Pannalal Shakya raised questions over the fertiliser distribution system and criticised the collector.

Addressing a programme for laying the foundation stones of two railway overbridges worth Rs 52 crore in Scindia's parliamentary constituency, Shakya asked the collector why long queues are taking place for fertiliser. Speaking in the presence of Scindia and collector Kanyal, the BJP legislator said, "What kind of system is this? Do you want to malign Maharaj Sahib (Scindia) by letting this happen in his area? I would never want that. That woman kept suffering there. What happened to her? She died. What was the reason? Give an answer first."

"I apologise to Maharaj Sahib (Scindia) if anything I said sounded harsh, but we will seek answers from the sahib (collector). If you don't answer here, we will ask in the assembly," he added.

Neither Scindia nor Kanyal reacted to the MLA's remarks.

On Scindia's directions, the local administration approved financial assistance of Rs 2 lakh for the woman's family and provided an additional Rs 10,000 through the Red Cross. Taking serious note of the incident, the Union minister also directed officials to conduct a full inquiry and ensure necessary action against responsible staff.