So who cares for such people, after all? We must take heart that some of our Members of Parliament are reacting to such distressing aspects of society
If you are not well dressed, appear indigent or are old, what are the chances that you would get a passer-by to help if you collapsed on the road margins of bustling Chennai? Pretty low, one would think.
An old man with nothing to indicate material prosperity lay semi-conscious on United India Colony's second cross street in Kodambakkam last week, occasionally moving a limb, and clearly ill. Some people had thrown a few bread slices and other food items, and they lay around the supine figure, untouched. He stared blankly and weakly raised his hand to gesture in response to questions.
Many people scurrying to work on the weekday morning failed to even notice him, while others cast a sideways glance as they hurried on. This writer, who was at the spot, tried calling the helpline for older adults, 1253, which was started eight years ago in association with the police. No one answered. It was left to a journalist colleague to rustle up some support through HelpAge India, and social worker Santosh Kumar from the agency (see picture) arranged to shift the man to Government Royapettah Hospital. With some luck, the man will find a refuge somewhere.
Not long ago, newspaper reports said a 35-year old man who had collapsed on the road in Nandanam Extension got no help because everyone thought he was under the influence of liquor. He did not survive. It could be argued that he was a victim of the social prejudice that has set in as TASMAC liquor shops proliferate, and render sprawled and seemingly lifeless men on road margins a perfectly normal urban spectacle. The Tamil Nadu government achieved a liquor sales turnover of over Rs. 18,000 crore in 2011-12, but such prosperous revenue has many hidden costs.
In the case of the Kodambakkam man, some watchmen in the neighbourhood speculated that he had perhaps come with a group of beggars who periodically gather to seek alms from visitors to a large church that is just across the road. If that is true, no one at the church appears to have noticed what had happened.
So who cares for such people, after all? We must take heart that some of our Members of Parliament are reacting to such distressing aspects of society. They have been asking questions in the Rajya Sabha about plans to ban begging and rehabilitate beggars, to which the Centre has helpfully pointed out that there is no plan to ban begging, but there are many schemes that it supervises to help older adults, the disabled, children and people addicted to alcohol. Also, no less than 20 States and two Union Territories have enacted “anti-beggary” legislations. For some reason, there are far fewer questions asked in the Lok Sabha, though.
Now, for a contrast. On a Thursday morning earlier this month, a senior surgeon in the city witnessed something heart warming. As he was driving to hospital to see patients, Dr. S.M. Chandramohan saw a massive black Porsche Cayenne S emerging from one of those nice houses near a star hotel on Dr. Radhakrishnan Road. “As an admirer of great machines, I could not help slowing down my own car, just to be behind that beautiful SUV, to watch it glide along the not-too-busy road,” he says. But just after it turned into TTK Road, the Porsche driver braked hard, switched on the blinkers and got down. The doctor was apprehensive that something untoward had happened, and got ready to help. In a few seconds, though, the mystery was revealed. “I saw the driver, who was in his thirties, crossing the road in front of my car. He was carrying a white puppy, which could not have been more than two weeks old. He carried it carefully and left it in one of the buildings on the side, out of harm's way.” The obvious question that many would ask is this: how many would care for a forlorn animal on the road, when they are at the wheel of an SUV that has a sticker price of between Rs. 75 lakhs and Rs. 1.5 crore, that too in a city that has no patience even for traffic signals?
The corollary to that question would be: should we blame the dulling effect of watching inebriated men staggering out of TASMAC shops and collapsing on the roads for our general insensitivity to people in distress? Or are we just plain insensitive?
Keywords: Urban Jungle column, Chennai city, elderly care, senior citizens, old age care
First of all, My salute to the author for this concerned topic which is badly in need of attention.This is nothing but an outcome our poor system only.Certainly polititions announced some scheme for this and swallowed some money on this and our lazy and selfish bureaucrats must be sitting and eating the balance money.End of the day public suffer.
You are asking a very important question, very very important -
When did Humanity leave the human beings, esp in chennai and where did it do.
Be it not allowing pedestrians to walk on the platform, by having shops and nowadays riding motorcycles
or
lead the ambulance when its siren's on - just so that you may get way ahead of the ambulance as (some) people give way
or
You as educated upper class want unending increase in your salary and bonus but want to still pay the meagre to domestic help and street hawkers
or
In spite of cribbing about dirty chennai how we throw all trash including sanitary products right on the street and let the street dogs expose them and cause very un hygiene condition
or
kidnap and murder elderly and children for few grams of gold......
countless like this -
True reason -
We see Education is to earn money and not to get cultured. Classes like civics and moral science are out of the way.
We do not have true leaders
We have common man without common sense.
India become very poverty because a rich person becomes very rich a poor man becomes very poor.This is the cause of non development of India.Not only Chennai but also all the cities of India poverty increasing very fast.
So, sad it is.In India many poor people are there but no one can recognize them.All are earning money for their needs.No, one will spent their money to poor people.I saw in many villages many poor children are there.
We all know that we are most immoral and highly corrupted people in the world. When majority of Indians are so inhumane I think it is the responsibility of the govt. to take care of them. Even if somone is drunken , but lying in road that means he needs immediate medical attention.I can't imagine that happening in the country where Ilive. It's simply because as soon as i phone the authority they come to the spot within 10 minutes and take care of them, it doesn't matter whether they are intoxicated or not. We cannot presume that every men or women lying on the roadside is drunken. We need a robust system and a common phone number to call for help. If that system is in place than I believe these incidents is less likely to happen but can't be eliminated from our country until and than we are educated properly and taught the values of human life and morality.If a stone atatute (God) lies in the road every indian will help it, unfortunately we don't respect stone statute more than human.
As a Secular Thinker, I believe most Indians (90%)are strong Believers
of Janma Poorva Karma - the Essence of Hinduism (to some extent
Christianity and Islam in India). As such, illness and poverty are the
RESULT of the actions happened in previous birth(s). What you see daily
is the Practice of Hindu Dharma or the so-called Sanatana Dharma! Hence,
where's the problem?
This is an apt article since just today, close to Tiruvanmur station, I saw a man carefully nestled on a pavement gap between a service road and the main Rajiv Gandhi Salai. I just assumed that he was drunk, and since I don't speak the language it would be difficult for me to enquire as to any problem. Interestingly, I believe I have seen the very same individual close to the same location a few weeks ago. Just before reaching the station, I was flanked by a young man who could hardly stand straight for want of sobriety. Shockingly, even before 8 am this morning there was a clearly inebriated individual who got off the train with me. Alcoholism is ruining lives, mostly of the wives and children of those who indulge, no doubt. The State government needs to stop counting the funds, and start doing something about this disgrace that is manifesting itself daily. Gandhijee would have been appalled.
Do not forget that even a MLA didn't help a policeman when he was crying for his life in an incident which happened two years before. The respected MLA was watching and didn't take any action fearing the consequences. Then what to expect from a common man?
Still a deeper thought, Its not about whom we care, its about the circumstance. Driver took care of Dog because generally no one would want any living being should be hurt consiously without any purpose.
He would not have cared for that dog if it was on the road side as he is no way connected to it and this is applied for sick old man too if he was on road the driver would have helped him as he was on road side he did not care. Human beings and animals are treated same by most of the people until and unless you are connected to it.
A sensitively written piece covering various angles. Incidentally, not
everyone who weaves through the street is drunk. My 72-year-old father
staggered home one evening from the temple, sweating profusely and
barely able to walk. His speech was slurred and he was actually asking
for help from the shopkeepers who've all known him for 30 years. He
heard a couple of people saying that the old man seems to have taken
up drinking even though he was a lifelong teetotaller (there was a
Tasmac shop nearby). It turned out to be a stroke. It's a miracle he
managed to cross a busy road and walk half a kilometre home.
well i dont have time to read your essay, i just type want i want to
share , now a days i travel to my office in bus , i see a lot of old
aged people in the bus ,many young aged people sitting in the seats
reserved for those old aged , neither the public nor conductors alert
those callous to vacate the seats , i myself had alerted those
callous
but i cant do it always i feel bad , i ask to myself why i should do
this always , well my point is that media people like you should talk
to the in-charges and help the old aged to get some space to sit ,
well the conductors should take the whistle from their mouth and talk
>>
we see some poor people lying unconsciously with pale face and bony body,yet we don't even try to join them in nearby govt.hospitals? this is because of lack of humanity in some people.
There is not much difference between a human & animal life in India,if
you see the daily newspapers.We have become highly selfish & insensitive
due to the high cost of living & greed!Since our administers are from
our own society,you can't expect anything better!
Urban india is not really heartless jungle but it has other reasons as well.
First on such a mentality of the urbans is they are so scared on "whom to believe and whom not". Since most of the people fallen on the road side are drunken,obviously people do think the one seeking for help fallen nearside road unconsious with not well dressed as a drunkard.
Secondly, we could see people pretending unconscious and seeking for help had flew away with chains & amount from the one who Voluntarily helps..
Third comes the Hesitation. when a neatly groomed person crossses a helpless person without cleanliness, sure he would hesitate. We lost the humanity as go as like 5 sensed person.
I once saw a old lady in her 80s collapsed outside a busy Koyambed bus stop. No one really bothered apart from a young guy who gave her a water packet. With my friend, we spoke to her and asked her she lives, flagged an auto and paid for it to take the lady home. Worst thing was, there were around 30 people in the bus stop and only one bothered. To top this, auto driver demanded 80rs to MMDA colony from Koyambedu but it is usually 40-50.
Urban India is heartless jungle and very few do care really genuinely for other living things in the city, be it humans,animals or plants! Tasmac outlets and their customers on the road need to be tackled by the police and Tasmac itself! Tasmac should be penalised heavily for any man is found lying on the road drunk.
If you dont have a home and people who care better get out of urban areas as quickly as possible and reach a smaller places where still humans are there!
The Hel Afew India shud point out the numerous "Yojanas" that are available for the adults including the old agae pension scheme of the state in addition to admitting in the hospital. BTW, Can you pls clarify more on the 1253 help line and in what way it helps
?
The question, unfortunately, is not how many would care for a forlorn animal on the road, but
how many would care for a forlorn human on the road. Puppies always find takers amongst
idealistic vegetarians and the PETA crowd. Call me a cynic, but I think it extremely unlikely
that Mr. Porsche Cayenne would have stopped to take aforementioned sick old man in his..
er, well, Porsche Cayenne, to a hospital. And that is the sad reality of today's "forward
thinking" society that places a higher value on animals' lives than on human lives.
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