Caught in the lockdown, two decrepit elderly sisters had walked 67 km from one district to another before they were rescued by the authorities on the road.
The sisters, 68-year-old Lakshmi and 70-year-old Madhammal, were stuck in Mettur where they had gone to visit a temple all by themselves before the lockdown, over a month ago.
They were caught unawares by the lockdown and ended up walking from Mettur in Salem district to Sogathur in Dharmapuri.
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Walking a distance of 67 km, with their hand-held sticks as crutches, the sisters were spotted by some locals in Sogathur in a feeble state before the authorities were alerted.
According to Dharmapuri tahsildar J. Sukumar, the two sisters were rescued on Sunday and admitted to a short stay home, where they were administered food and glucose. The old women were staying with one of their sons and from there, they had left to visit a temple in Mettur.
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“Their families were summoned. Lakshmi and Madhammal were consulted and they both insisted they wanted to go back home with their families. Lakshmi was sent to her grandson’s house in Harur and Madhammal was sent to her son’s house on Tuesday.”
Asked how the families had not looked around for them all these days, Mr. Sukumar said, the families said they were looking for them but were limited by the lockdown and could not travel far.