It is because the economy is on the downslide and jobs getting scarcer
Elders crave for attention and care. (Photos used for representative purpose). (Photo: DC/File)
Coimbatore: The hosiery hub of Tirupur was once the dollar town of prosperity in Tamil Nadu. Now, with the economy on the downslide and jobs getting scarcer, the textile town is slowly turning into a 'dumping yard for elderly people', say those working for NGOs.
On September 26, a doddering old woman was lying abandoned on the streets of Tirupur, with flies and bugs swarming her. The NGO, Eera Nenjam, rescued the shrivelled Rasammal. Her family could not be traced and she is now languishing in the home run by Coimbatore corporation at R.S. Puram.
In August, a 70-year-old blind woman was lying abandoned on the roadside in front of the government hospital in Tirupur. Eera Nenjam also received an SOS to 'rescue' a frail old lady from Theni. She had come to Tirupur along with her son, Murugan, who was working in a knitwear unit.
"She wanted us to take her to her son. We tried to trace her son. Sadly, her son had died and she was abandoned in Tirupur," said P. Mahendiran of Eera Nenjam.
The elderly woman, Parvathi, was given treatment at the government hospital and then shifted to Coimbatore corporation's home. "However, she does not know about the death of her son and is still waiting for him," said Mahendiran.
The NGO has rescued three elderly women from the streets of Tirupur in barely the first nine months of the year. About a decade ago, an old woman was dumped in a garbage bin by her daughter in Erode. The Erode police arrested the woman's daughter and the case is still pending.
"People from the southern districts come with their families to Tirupur in search of jobs. When they find it difficult to take care of their elderly parents, they dump them on the streets," said Mahendiran.
( Source : dc )
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