CHENNAI: M Renuka (46) waited at the gates of a private resort in East Coast Road on Monday morning. A widow, she lost her husband in a road accident five years ago. Most recently, she lost what was left of her memories with her husband, the single room thatched house at Hanuman colony in Injambakkam which got washed away in the recent floods.
A few minutes later, more people assembled near the resort. Most of them were women.
In a special drive, the local police had enumerated the underprivileged widows and home alone senior citizens in their jurisdiction and arranged for relief materials to be distributed to them. The time was 9.30 am. The public were at least a hour early as local police had asked them to report at the camp by 9 am.
“We have arranged for relief kits for 300 such persons in our jurisdiction. Our personnel, with the help of volunteers from each area short listed the beneficiaries,” Neelankarai Assistant Commissioner G.Sankar told Express. Around 10.30, volunteers from the New College and their professors reached the resort with relief materials.
Renuka was among the first few to collect the relief. “This will help me for the time being thanks to the good hearts,” said the widow, undergoing treatment for breast cancer and dependent on her brothers. “My eldest son lives with his wife and two kids in Vyasarpadi and checks on me occasionally,” she said. When asked about her younger son, tears ebb in her eyes. “He went to an engineering college. I don’t even know if he graduated. Right now, I don’t know what he is up to,” said Renuka, now sheltered in a neighbour’s home.
With the relief kit on one hand, she slowly limped out of the gates to her temporary abode. Inside the hall, Inspector M.S.Bhaskar and his team were regulating the public.