A differently-abled woman who has been eking out a living for her family comprising of ailing husband and two kids by moving around in a wooden plank fitted with wheels to sell lottery tickets in Kochi is now receiving many helping hands after her plight was noticed following a humane gesture of two police personnel.
Forty-three-year-old Sarada, who is from Andhra Pradesh, moved to Kochi about five years ago with her family in search of a job as they had financial obligations caused by treatment of her husband's kidney ailment.
Owing to a disability of her legs, Sarada used to move around in a wooden plank fitted with wheels as she could not afford to buy a wheelchair. She used to sell lottery tickets to take care of the family as well as to repay around Rs 4 lakh debt of the family.
Sarada's plight was noticed last Monday when she was unable to cross a barricade set up by the police in Kochi in view of protests against Kerala Higher Education Minister K T Jaleel. Since she could not cross the barricades owing to her disability, two police personnel lifted her along with her wheels fitted wooden plank and carried her to the other side of the stretch so that she could continue her journey to eke out a living. Sarada was moved by the gesture of the police personnel and she thanked them by touching their feet.
With some local media publishing a picture of this gesture and the Kerala Police sharing it on their social media page, many came up with offers to help her financially as well as by providing motorised wheelchair. However, the police had no idea about her whereabouts, even as many had often spotted her in the busy Kochi city. On Saturday the police traced her.
Kochi assistant commissioner of police K Lalji visited her at her rented house and enquired about her whereabouts.
Lalji told DH that many offers to support her were already received. What she immediately required was a motorised wheelchair. The offers would be scrutinised and only those from genuine agencies and individuals would be entertained, he said.