COIMBATORE: By the time the volunteers reached the Sundakkamuthur graveyard on Tuesday to rescue an abandoned woman, she had spent three days there. Three days of neglect and despondency had taken their toll. The woman was neither coherent nor active.
The woman, later identified as Vijaya (55), has been admitted to a night shelter run by the city Corporation. She has been quarantined, and further steps would depend upon the outcome of coronavirus tests. Vijaya spent three days at the graveyard, surviving off the largesse of the locals, who were wary of getting too close to her. Claims of the people suggested that she was brought to the graveyard in a van by her relatives, who abandoned her there. Officials were trying to trace her relatives and ascertain the cause.
A volunteer associated with the rescue, Ragavendran, told TNIE that he learnt about the issue from a friend. “After confirming the incident, I alerted Namma Covai Forum, a WhatsApp group,” he said.
After Namma Covai Forum took up the issue, TMMK’s medical wing too got involved. They rescued the woman and admitted her to a night shelter at RS Puram. District secretary of TMMK medical wing H Mohammad Ashiq said that they found the woman in a pitiable condition.
“She was taken to the ESI hospital in an ambulance for coronavirus infection test. She has been quarantined at the shelter,” he added. President of Malarumvizhigal (NGO) K Gangadharan said her health is being monitored. Malarumvizhigal manages the night shelter, he added.