PATHANAMTHITTA: The government has granted pension to a woman village officer who got paralyzed and lost her ability to speak following an accident that took place eight years ago. Kodumon native Ajithakumari, who was a village officer at Ilanthur, will get her pension with retrospective effect from 2018.

The action was taken on the basis of a report published by Kerala Kaumudi on July 7, citing her ill health and the situation of the family whose house and land were threatened with foreclosure due to non-repayment of home loan.

Kerala Kaumudi had reported that officials had obstructed her pension on the pretext that they could not find the application documents for the invalid pension. The news caught the attention of Revenue Minister E. Chandrasekharan and Adoor MLA Chittayam Gopakumar visited Ajithakumari. The minister assured Chittayam Gopakumar that action would be taken after examining the application and documents. Ajithakumari's husband Rajan Pillai received a copy of the order from the Principal Secretary of the Revenue Department through the MLA. Though Ajithakumari has service till May next year, there is a rule to avail the benefit in the name of invalid pension.

On May 22, 2012, Ajithakumari got seriously injured when she met with an accident while travelling on a colleague's bike to the bus stop. One of Ajithakumari's children is eligible for compassionate appointment. Son of Panmana native Shareef, who lost mobility following an accident was recently granted a compassionate appointment.