Sixteen months after she was injured in a bomb blast near the BJP office in Malleswaram, Leesha N.S. is fighting against odds to rebuild her life.
Daughter of a battery technician, Ms. Leesha’s constant worry is about her father’s struggle to meet her medical expenses. The girl, along with her parents, has repeatedly made appeals to the Chief Minister and had even personally met him. But, having got no response they finally decided to meet Chief Minister Siddaramaiah at the Janata Darshan on Tuesday.
After the blast, on April 17, 2013, Ms. Leesha has undergone six operations and needs grafting, which is expensive. She is on regular follow-up treatment, and her father, Doreswamy Raj, said he had spent Rs. 10 lakh so far towards her medical expenses as an outpatient. The then Chief Minister D.V. Sadananda Gowda had promised the family that the government would cover all her medical expenses. “Although the government cleared the medical expenses incurred during my stay in the hospital, it has done nothing for my ongoing treatment as an out patient. It is impossible for my father to take any more loans,” Ms. Leesha said.
“We are spending nearly Rs. 1,000 daily to ferry her to her college where she is pursuing Bachelor of Computer Application course. Although the Mayor had promised to provide her with a customised two-wheeler, nothing has happened so far,” Mr. Raj told the Chief Minister.
“Initially, we used to travel by auto as it was cheaper. But when the driver would apply the brakes, the rod in her leg would jerk, hitting the vehicle’s body and there would be bleeding,” he said.
Mr. Raj, who appealed to the government to arrange for a vehicle to ferry his daughter to the college and hospital, wanted the Chief Minister to ensure that she was given a government job after she completed her course.
Mr. Siddaramaiah assured them that a vehicle would be arranged for her.
