PUDUKKOTTAI: For most people, the biggest worry during the pandemic has been protecting themselves and their family from the virus. However, for 37-year-old Saritha, coronavirus is the least of her worries. Polio took away the functioning of her legs and right hand when she was three months old. She can only crawl with the help of her left hand.
A resident of Thondaiman Oorani in Pudukkottai, Saritha, has been managing her house with the Rs 1,000 disability allowance from the government and her husband Ravi, a farm labourer’s income. Due to lockdown, his income was also not remarkable, she says. So dire was their situation that she did not have Rs 300 to pay for the repair of her 17-year-old tricycle, which is rusted, wheels torn, and is in a pitiable condition.
“As I couldn’t pay for the repair, I had to crawl to go to the bathroom every day, for more than a week. It was extremely painful and embarrassing. I couldn’t even ask my children for help as they were studying. I have been demanding a toilet from the government for several years now, but to no avail. I have asked the panchayat president several times,” says Saritha. Few years back, toilets were built in 10 of the 40 houses in the ward where Saritha stays. Even in that, her house was left out, says ward member Muthuselvan.
“The toilets were constructed in 10 houses but they are all of poor quality and are not being used. It would have been better had they constructed one at Saritha’s house. The panchayat president has said that a toilet can be built only when the next batch is sanctioned,” said Muthuselvan. Saritha has to go atleast a kilometer in the open to relieve herself. Since she can only sit on the bottom of the tricycle, she needs the help of another person to push the cycle.
Her house doesn’t even have a ramp. She has to crawl on stones to enter her house. The palm of her left hand, which takes her weight when she moves, is in a bad condition. Since the lockdown began, she has been asking for Rs 1,500 disability allowance, which is given to severely differently abled persons (75% and above affected), instead of her usual Rs 1,000.
“After our marriage, our parents disowned us. We have no one to help us. It is only due to organizations like Makkal Pathai and Irantha Kaigal that I have become visible to the world. I hope someone comes forward to help me give a better future for my children,” adds Saritha. She dreams of running a small shop outside her house to get a good income. She aspires to buy a cycle for her children, along with a new tricycle for herself .
As the government school in the village has only till Class VIII, her daughter Subhashini stays with a relative for her studies. “Buses are not regular in our village so children have to go 15 kilometres for their high school. Some parents drop their children in their two wheelers or the children go by cycle. We can’t afford to buy a cycle. My son Suresh will also go away next year when he completes Class VIII,” she adds. Subhashini aspires to be a doctor and Suresh a policeman.