KAKINADA: In a heart-wrenching incident, a dog waited for its owner at the Edurulanka bridge on River Godavari in Yanam for over 24 hours, unaware that she had ended her life. The 22-year-old woman, identified as Mandhangi Kanchana, came to the bridge on Sunday evening following an altercation with her mother.
She removed her dupatta and slippers on the bridge, before jumping into the river. The canine, who reportedly followed her to the bridge, guarded its owner’s belongings until her brother was asked to take the dog away late on Monday. Kanchana, who lived near Yanam, lost her father last year due to cardiac arrest. Her mother Kamala runs a tiffin centre at Ferry Road.
Yanam sub-inspector S Nukaraju said Kanchana was unmarried. She had studied up to Class X and used to help her mother. While her brother Subhash Chandra Bose worked as a clerk with an oil company, her elder sister Dhanalakshmi moved to Kakinada after marriage.
A pet lover, Kanchana had rescued a stray dog and was taking care of it.“On several occasions, her mother had reprimanded her for not abandoning the dog as it was ruining household articles. However, the woman continued to look after the dog,” the SI said.
Elaborating, police said Kamala had admonished Kanchana on Saturday while making preparations for selling breakfast the next day. Their tiff continued on Sunday as well. Following this, the woman left the tiffin centre around 6.30 pm after her duty.
“Kanchana reached the Yanam-Yedurlanka bridge. She called her mother and sister and informed them that she was ending her life. She jumped from the sixth pillar of the bridge,” the SI said and added that she might not have been aware that her dog was following her. Commuters thought that she was walking her dog, but were shocked to see when she jumped off the bridge all of a sudden, police said.
When police rushed to the spot upon receiving the news, the dog would bark loudly and not allow them anywhere near Kanchana’s slippers. On the directions of the police, Bose moved the dog away from the spot at 11.30 pm on Monday.
Kanchana’s body was found at 8.30 am on Tuesday at Kanakalapeta Pushkar Ghat. The body was shifted to Yanam Government Hospital for postmortem. The incident reminded several people of the movie 'Hachi: A Dog’s tale,' based on the true story of a Japanese dog Hachiko who waited for his owner, Hidesabur Ueno, for over nine years after he died. This year also marks Hachiko’s 100th birth anniversary.
Discussing suicides can be triggering for some. However, suicides are preventable. In case you feel distressed by the content or know someone in distress, call Sneha Foundation - 04424640050 (available 24x7).
