Moved by the plight of Soumita Dey, a former gymnast from West Bengal, fighting for life at a Kolkatta hospital, AIADMK general secretary Jayalalithaa on Saturday announced Rs 5 lakh from party funds for her treatment.
According to a party statement, Ms. Jayalalithaa said she felt very sad on seeing the news of Ms. Dey’s interview of how the wrong medical treatment provided to her two years ago had led to her fighting for life. The 27-year old Ms. Dey is down with neurosarcoidosis since 2012 with the lower half of her body paralysed.
She had represented Bengal at the national level for a decade from 1998 to 2008 and took to coaching in 2005. She was a judge 2010 Commonwealth Games in New Delhi. Apart from Ms. Dey’s interview, her mother had also said the family has no money required for the treatment.
After learning about the plight of Ms. Dey Ms. Jayalalithaa said the gymnast could have gone on to win many more medals at the world stage. Sad that she can’t get back to her favourite sport, the AIADMK chief said sanctioning Rs 5 lakh from party funds immediately for the treatment.
