The picture and story about a man with leprosy taking his wife’s body in a pushcart to conduct her last rites was heartbreaking (“ >Telangana man takes wife to final abode on a pushcart ,” Nov. 7). I can’t imagine the agony and trauma he must have undergone. The only consolation in this horrible story is that there were people willing to help him along the way. The help extended by a circle inspector in Vikarabad is praiseworthy. This is not the first time that such an incident is coming to the fore. In Odisha some months ago, a man walked with his wife’s body on his shoulder as he could not afford to hire a vehicle. Authorities at the panchayat, block and district levels must formulate plans to make ambulance and healthcare services more affordable.
M. Dinakaran,
Edappal, Kerala
