6-yr-old girl in Karnataka forced to beg to look after ailing mother

Koppal: Usually, it is the mother who takes care of the child but not in this case, where a six-year-old girl, Bhagyashree, has resorted to begging since last one week to feed her mother, Durgamma, who is admitted to a hospital after years of alcoholism.

"I don't have my father so I want my mother to be well. I have no money that is why I have to beg. I asked people for money and used to feed my mother with that money," Bhagyashree told reporters here.

The mother has a severe drinking problem and her husband had left her to marry another woman, leaving only Bhagyashree to look after her.

The six-year-old child has been begging in and around the hospital premises since the last one week. She has been feeding, cleaning her mother as well, all on her own, which drew the attention of the people visiting the hospital.

The people made the hospital administration aware of the condition of the daughter-mother duo which also reached the Chief Minister's Office (CMO), which thankfully took the matters in its own hand.

The CMO instructed the Women and Child Welfare Department to take care of Durgamma and to ensure they return back safely to their native place post-treatment. The CM's office has also instructed officials to ensure a good education for the child, according to Eranna Panchal, Joint Director, Women and Children Welfare Department.

"When she came, her condition was not good and she was not capable of walking. She's from Karatagi Siddapura, she also has a boy who is studying in 4th standard. We are collecting more details, right now we have her brother with us to give more information. We will give free education in a government school to the girl and free treatment for the mother is also being ensured," Panchal told reporters.