Karnataka   

Not much succour for this doctor

hard times: Sudharani has been suffering from the disease for nearly 15 years

Chitradurga: It is hard to see Sudharani, who has treated countless number of patients, lying helplessly in bed.

This 55-year-old doctor is suffering from multiple sclerosis that affects the central nervous system and paralyses the entire body.

Dr. Sudharani has been suffering from the disease for nearly 15 years. She barely speaks, and tears rolling down her eyes and a steady gaze are her only reaction to any question.

“She is completely dependant on others for her survival. She cannot even move her head without somebody’s help”, says her 82-year-old father N.J. Srinivas.

The “apathy” shown by the Government towards helping her tackle her financial problems adds to her agony.

“For the past 15 years, the Government has neither considered her request for voluntary retirement, nor given her any compensation. She stopped getting her salary years ago”, Mr. Srinivas said. He has a heap of documents that are proof of his efforts to get justice for his eldest daughter.

Dr. Sudharani’s younger sister Manjuladevi said that on completion of the MBBS course from Mysore, the former was appointed medical officer at Karwar, in 1983. She served there for five years before she was transferred to Bellary and later to Holalkere taluk in Chitradurga district.

“It was in 1991 that she first showed signs of the disease. She was not able to move her legs. When we took her to NIMHANS, the doctors confirmed it to be a case of multiple sclerosis”, said Ms. Manjuladevi, who is an executive engineer with Karnataka Power Corporation.

Ms. Manjuladevi said that since then, her sister’s life had changed completely. Though with some initial treatment, her sister could managed to sit, her condition had been deteriorating. During that time, Dr. Sudharani was working at the primary health centre in Mallasandra village of Bangalore Rural district. On medical grounds, she got leave for two months, but since her condition deteriorated, the family decided that she should opt for voluntary retirement.

“By then, our financial condition was bad, and the treatment cost was becoming unbearable. So we brought her to our home in Chitradurga. I get some money from the house I have let out and my son works as a booking clerk at a movie hall. This is the only source of earning for us”, Mr. Srinivas said.

The Government was not ready to accept her request for voluntary retirement, citing some technicality.

“Is it more important than humanitarian reasons, he asked.

“Believe in God, I have no faith left in the Government,” he adds.

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