LUCKNOW: Over 100-year-old Ramapati, alone and abandoned, had no choice but to gather herself and reach out to authorities for support on Tuesday. And thanks to Faizabad DM Anil Kumar Pathak who extended a helping hand to the old woman and she found a family in him for the rest of her life.
"I have adopted her and I will look after her as my mother. I have ordered allotment of a house for her under Pradhan Mantri Aawas Yojna in her village, old age pension and a BPL ration card. I have also ordered a doctor from nearest community health centre to visit her daily for her regular health checkups," said Pathak while confirming that he had taken her responsibility since she had no one to depend on in this phase of her life.
A native of Mumtaznagar village in Faizabad district, Ramapati’s condition and her age helped her to find her way crossing the barriers at every step into the corridors of DM office. “Somehow, I could reach here as it was the question of survival for me. They stopped me at every step but my condition paved the way ahead for me,” she said.
The woman, who was not in her senses and shivering with cold, entered the DM's chamber despite objections of the security personnel. Her old age and frail body caught the attention of the district magistrate who was busy in a meeting. Seeing Ramapati seeking a hearing, Pathak got off his chair and went to the door to escort the old woman himself.
He made her comfortable in a corner of his room and arranged tea and some biscuits for her. “It is my duty to give a patient hearing to the poor and needy who approach me with some hope,” said Pathak.
"I tried to talk to her to get an idea about her problems but unfortunately she was not able to speak properly and narrate much,” said Pathak adding that the documents she was carrying established her identity as Ramapati, wife of Ram Bharose, who was no more. “We could calculate her age on the basis of her papers and it came out to be over 100 years,” said the DM.
While Ramapati did not know much about the present, she narrated incidents of pre-independence era. “She, however, distinctly remembered the first general elections of the country after independence in 1952,” Pathak said.
Pathak also arranged conveyance for Ramapati to her village and gave her Rs 5,000 from his pocket before she departed for home.