Two mentally ill persons from Assam and Jharkhand, who have been staying at the town-based shelter home for destitute persons for the past four years, are all set to be reunited with their families soon.
Chunil Gogoi from Batiporia village in Assam and Marcus from Chatakahu in Jharkhand were rescued from the roadside while wandering on the streets in Khammam by the town-based Annam Seva Foundation chairman and para-legal volunteer Annam Srinivasa Rao nearly four years ago. Since then, they have been residing at the shelter home run by the Annam Seva Foundation in the town.
After partially recovering from their mental illness, the duo reportedly shared some information about their native places with Mr Rao. Based on the clues, Mr Rao posted their details on social media and managed to trace their addresses two days ago.
Mr Rao obtained permission from the district administration to travel to Assam and Jharkhand along with the duo to reunite them with their family members. He, along with the duo, set off on the long journey in Annam Seva Foundation’s ambulance with two crew members from here on Tuesday evening.
The inmates and volunteers of the shelter home accorded an affectionate farewell to Chunil Gogoi and Marcus. The foundation has disbursed financial assistance of ₹ 50,000 to Chunil and ₹ 25,000 to Marcus.
Speaking to The Hindu , Mr Rao said Prof. Nanda Kishore of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Guwahati, Assam, helped him in tracing the address of Chunil by establishing contact with the latter's impoverished family members in Assam’s Batiporia village.
Collector P V Gautham has promptly issued a permission letter to travel to Jharkhand and Assam for handing over the two inmates of the shelter home to their family members, Mr Rao said.
