KOCHI : Mahesh Iyer, who was rescued from the pavement near the Thrissur KSRTC bus stand after TNIE published a photograph showing his condition, is no more. He was 48.
Mahesh passed away on Thursday night while under treatment at the Government Medical College Hospital in Alappuzha. A decision is yet to be made on his funeral.
The sad state of Mahesh was captured by TNIE chief photographer T P Sooraj. The photo published on January 5 showed an emaciated man lying on the street with bleeding wounds on his leg. After the photo went viral on WhatsApp groups, Theruvoram Murugan, a social worker, came forward to take care of Mahesh.
“It was after a lot of effort that he was able to get treatment at the Alappuzha medical college. It took the intervention of the Alappuzha District Legal Services Authority sub-judge/secretary Pramod Murali for him to get admitted to the MCH,” Murugan said.
He said an NRI had approached them with an offer to get Mahesh treated at a hospital in Mahe while he was under treatment at the MCH. “The NRI had also offered to provide him employment on recovery. Everything had been set and the NRI’s contact person even arrived in Alappuzha. But on Thursday night we received the sad news of his passing,” he said.
Murugan said Mahesh’s brother, who is in Bengaluru, and relatives, approached him expressing readiness to hold his cremation. However, they have not said when, he said. “They have not told us when they will come or any other details,” Murugan added.
Mahesh was working as an overseas operation manager of a Mumbai-based steel company, and as part of his job, he travelled to more than 20 countries. However, he lost his job during the pandemic. Mahesh’s life had been a roller-coaster, beginning his career as an autorickshaw driver in Chalakkudy after completing BCom. He would sell the crunchy snack ‘murukku’ that his parents made at their home those days, riding the autorickshaw.
After his father succumbed to cancer, which left him in deep debt, Mahesh went to Mumbai with his mother, looking for a job. And he landed a good job with a steel export company. As a person handling the export market, Mahesh could travel to many overseas markets. However, he returned to Kochi with his mother, deep in debt. His mother passed away soon after, and he was evicted from the home he rented after he defaulted on the rent. The unprecedented setbacks threw Mahesh into depression. He left home in search of a job in Thrissur but to no avail. Ultimately, he had to take refuge in the streets.