E-Paper
Mentally-ill woman begging in Prayagraj for 2 yrs reunited with family in MP
Originally from Mandsaur district of Madhya Pradesh, Durgabai has had a tumultuous life. Her in-laws and husband threw her out of their house.
PRAYAGRAJ It was a heartwarming moment when 45-year-old Durgabai met with her family members after two long years. Tears rolled down the cheeks of Durgabai and her kin, who had lost all hopes of seeing her again.
Forced to beg on the streets of Prayagraj to survive, the mentally-ill woman was reunited with her Madhya Pradesh-based family with the help of local social activists.
Originally from Mandsaur district of Madhya Pradesh, Durgabai has had a tumultuous life. Her in-laws and husband threw her out of their house. Subsequently, she started living at her parent’s house but soon, her mother died. Her death gave Durgabai the shock of her life and she lost her mental cognition.
Under unknown circumstances, Durgabai somehow reached Prayagraj and started wandering here. The footpaths of the Industrial Area near Rampur crossing became her new ‘home’. She would eat whatever locals and traders gave her as alms.
This went on for two years until a local social activist, Jaivijay Narayan Vishwakarma, spotted the woman living in a pathetic condition and enquired about her from locals. However, no one could provide any relevant information about her kin or her home.
Nevertheless, Vishwakarma decided to find Durgabai’s kin. A week ago, Vishwakarma spoke to the woman and got her admitted to a nursing home for her treatment. He also shot a video of the woman where he gave whatever information he could gather about her.
Meanwhile, another social activist, Mohd Arif, who works for the identification of unclaimed bodies and finding missing persons, stumbled upon the video on social media. Arif, who has a network across many states for finding missing persons, circulated the video to his contacts in several states.
“From her diction and appearance, I guessed that the woman is from Madhya Pradesh. I sent the video to my contacts in Madhya Pradesh. After I got the confirmation that the woman belonged to Banpur, I sought help from the local police unit there and they searched for her kin,” said Arif.
On Sunday, Durgabai’s cousin Shyamlal and her neighbour Toofan Singh reached Prayagraj. In the presence of police, Durgabai was handed over to them. Shyamlal said that Durgabai has four siblings. She was living with her mother but after her death, she lost her mental cognition.
