CHENNAI: For the past week, the 10th platform of Egmore railway station has been home to a family of three — G Guru Lakshmi, her brother S Venkatesh and son Guru Surya — after all avenues to seek help for the differently-abled child led to a roadblock.
The family came to Chennai from Virudhunagar in the hope of finding help for the 17-year-old boy who lost his mobility completely around two years ago.
“His seizures have increased in the last few years and anything as much as a cell phone ringing can trigger a seizure,” said Venkatesh. Venkatesh has been helping his sister and nephew after Guru Lakshmi’s husband abandoned them over a land dispute.
The nature of Guru Surya’s disability has not yet been properly diagnosed, they say. They set out on the journey after hearing that a Tamil actor runs a charitable trust to help persons with disabilities.
However, they claimed that they were turned away by the organisation citing lack of facilities necessary to treat the boy. “We used to sell towels back home. We don’t have anything there other than a debt of Rs 2 lakh. We have asked the railway officials for some work or the other,” said Guru Lakshmi.
Since last week, they have been living with the generosity of passersby and conservancy staff at the platforms who buy them tea and biscuits. They stay on the 10th platform during the day and at night, move to the public toilet in the station.