KOLKATA: Actor-turned-Trinamool Congress MP Dev has come to the aid of a physically challenged elderly man near here, who walks several kilometres every day with the help of his crutches to sell masks and earn a living.
Amal Bhowmik (80) had been trudging from one door to another in Belgharia area on the city's northern outskirts since June, after his son's flower business took a hit owing to the lockdown. Dev came across a Twitter post on his plight and decided to reach out to him.
The Tollywood star's production team has got in touch with his family and promised financial help. "Dev-da's personal assistant called me on my cell phone and promised assistance. One of his team members will be meeting us shortly to finalize how it can be done," Bhowmik's son said on Thursday. Somnath Sarkar, a CPM activist, had posted a photograph of Bhowmik on Twitter on July 14.
"This is Amal Bhowmik, a resident of Prafullanagar colony in Belgharia. He is fighting the odds in extremely adverse situations. I came across him while returning from night duty and got to know that despite promises, local leaders of the ruling party and the councillor did nothing to help him," Sarkar had posted on the microblogging site. "He does not get old-age pension. Please see to it if he can be helped," he said in the tweet.
Sharing his tweet, Dev said, "Hi Somnath....will be happy to help him...Thanku for the information." Bhowmik, when approached, said he had to hit the streets as the family was having a difficult time to make ends meet.
"My son is still struggling to keep his business afloat. The markets get closed from time to time. Also, he got no orders for marriages and other occasions over the past two to three months due to the COVID-19 situation. Nobody was buying flowers for funerals, too," Bhowmik told PTI.
The Ghatal MP, who had earlier facilitated the return of 286 migrant workers from Nepal, said it was his job to help people in distress and that does not merit any accolade. "I don't think I hadn't done anything great. My job is to be on side of people in distress. And he could have been my father," he added.