RAMANATHAPURAM: Enter the famous Erwadi dargah in Ramanathapuram and the sight that greets is that of mentally ill persons tied to trees. The dargah, popularly believed to have immense healing powers, has long been a refuge for families with mentally ill members who congregate here from across the south in the hopes of a cure.
But even almost 10 years after 28 mentally ill people died in a fire that engulfed the shed they were housed in, the government is yet to grant permission for a residence for the hundreds of patients thronging here.
The Erwadi Dargah Huqtar Committee is ready to house the patients in a building on their premises. Speaking to Express, Ameer Amsha, president of the committee, said that as per a court verdict after the fire, they had the right to run a home, but the government had failed to give them permission. And so, mentally ill people continue to be chained and are left to fend for themselves if abandoned by their families.
Take Radhika, for instance. Her mother Santha, from Palakkad in Kerala, said Radhika had been ill for over a year and was chained to a tree as she kept running away from the dargah. Jainulabudin of Madurai, said that his son Abbas, 25, was chained to an iron pole as he was not able to control him.
The dargah’s building is ready. All that is required is a nod from the state.