Elderly Man on Road Finally Moved to Hospital

MADURAI:On a day when Express published a report about an abandoned senior citizen struggling at a bus stop in Madurai, the Red Cross Society was forced to act and admit him to a government hospital.

The man was lying at Kalavasal bus stop for the last three days after being thrown out by his family members. Some local residents and volunteers of HelpAge India had been repeatedly contacting the Red Cross the last two days to help the old man. However nothing worked.

Acting swiftly on the Express report on Monday, collector L Surbamanian directed the Red Cross to immediately rescue the senior citizen from the bus stop. Around 9 am, Red Cross volunteers reached there in an 108 ambulance. “After informing the local police, we rescued the man and admitted him to the Government Rajaji Hospital for treatment.

As his right hand and a leg are dysfunctional, we have requested a hospital nurse to assist him,” said a volunteer of the Red Cross.

Volunteers also said that they would shift him to a home for the elderly after his health improved.

Earlier, HelpAge India were rescuing destitutes in the city and admitting them to old age homes. But recently collector Subramanian shifted the responsibility to the Red Cross.