A woman from Karnataka, who has been in the Mental Hospital and Rehabilitation Centre in Shimla for the past two years after her husband abandoned her in June 2016 in Mysuru, and she unknowingly reached Himachal Pradesh, will finally return to Karnataka and reunite with her family soon.
A five-member team from Karnataka, headed by Dr Manju Prasad, chief medical officer, Mysuru, has reached Shimla to complete the formalities of her return.
The Mysuru team has arrived here following the intervention of Karnataka chief minister Kumaraswamy after reports about the plight of the woman appeared in Kannad newspapers. The CM had directed deputy commissioner of Mysuru to make arrangements for the return of the woman to Karnataka.
Padma Sampatha, undergoing treatment for mental illness, had first reached Nagrota in Kangra district in June 2016. She was first hospitalised at the Dr Rajendra Prasad Medical College, Tanda, and later moved to the rehabilitation centre in Shimla.
Padma, who is illiterate and spoke only Kannad, did not remember how she reached Himachal's Nagrota town. She could not tell anybody about her family due to the language barrier.
Finally, some time ago, Suneela Sharma, a lecturer at the Rajiv Gandhi Degree College, Shimla, and a social activist, who knew Kannada, came into her contact. "I was moved to see her plight. Nobody understood that she was desperate to go back home. From her condition, it appeared that she was under emotional stress and was keen to return home. She only murmured the name of her village," said Suneela Sharma, who had been trying hard to trace her family in Karnataka.
{{/usCountry}}Finally, some time ago, Suneela Sharma, a lecturer at the Rajiv Gandhi Degree College, Shimla, and a social activist, who knew Kannada, came into her contact. "I was moved to see her plight. Nobody understood that she was desperate to go back home. From her condition, it appeared that she was under emotional stress and was keen to return home. She only murmured the name of her village," said Suneela Sharma, who had been trying hard to trace her family in Karnataka.
{{/usCountry}}Suneela, who is associated with Prayas, a social welfare organisation, that runs a wellness programme, contacted her Kannada-speaking television journalist in Delhi, who was able to trace her family. It was found that Padma hailed from Vaddar Hatti Bhoonali Channyara Pattan under Hassan police station in Karnataka.
After her family was traced, hospital authorities have established contact with the Karnataka government's health department for her return and rehabilitation.
Padma's mother has reportedly refused to take her back due to her poor condition. “We have now asked the Karnataka government to explore the possibility or rehabilitating her," said Dr Sanjeev Pathak, medical superintendent of the hospital.
“She is fine now. She only suffered from emotional trauma," said Pathak . “She was reportedly abandoned by her husband in Mysuru. She was intoxicated and later robbed. When she gained consciousness all she remembered that she was sitting in a train and found herself in a Hindi-speaking area ," says Pathak.
Himachal chief minister Jai Ram Thalur’s wife Sadhna Thakur, a doctor, who has her origin in Karnataka, also visited the hospital a few weeks ago and met Padma.