THOOTHUKUDI: Seeking free patta land to build a house, a woman with speech and hearing impairment on Wednesday petitioned District Collector K Elambahavath alleging that the owner of her rented house forbade her husband from entering it since the latter often made loud noises owing to his mental illness.
The petition was submitted by Hyer Nisha (63) of Paramankurichi during the special grievance redressal meeting held to mark the International Day of Persons with Disabilities. Nisha in her petition said that she works as a domestic help and earns Rs 2,500 a month.
"My husband, Abdul Kader (67), suffers from a mental illness and often tends to shout. Due to this, my house owner won't allow him to enter the house. So, he has been wandering on the streets for the last 15 years. He sleeps on a verandah near shops at Kombudaiyar street in Udangudi," the petition read.
Nisha appealed to the collector to provide her with patta land so that the couple could live together and she could take care of him. She also noted that she has not received Rs 1,500, the monthly assistance for disabled persons, for the last three months. The couple's daughter A Seithuoon (39) told TNIE that the family had to shift several houses in the past due to this issue. She earns a living as a tailor.
Elambahavath chaired the grievance redressal meeting organised by the Department of Welfare for Differently-abled. He received over 520 petitions from people with disabilities and distributed welfare assistance worth Rs 4.66 lakh to over 40 beneficiaries.