Hans Cultural Foundation has come forward to help Ritu admitted in Himalayan Hospital Jolly Grant, suffering from a rare disease called Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS). The foundation on Wednesday sanctioned a sum of Rs three lakh for the treatment of the girl belonging to a very poor family. The uncle of the girl, whose parents are deceased, had offered to sell his kidney to pay for treatment of Ritu. The Pioneer in its edition of May 17 had carried a story on the plight of the girl and her family. Kedarnath MlA, Manoj Rawat also visited the girl in the hospital on the day and assured all possible help.
The secretary of the Hans Cultural Foundation, New Delhi, CS Bhandari told The Pioneer that an amount of Rs three lakh has been sanctioned for the treatment of Ritu. He added that if the need arises the foundation would try to help Ritu by contacting other agencies. Kedarnath MlA Manoj Rawat who visited Ritu at Himalayan hospital said that the doctors are hopeful that Ritu would recover soon. He said that he has requested Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat to sanction financial help for Ritu from his discretionary fund. The MlA said that he will ensure that all possible assistance is provided to the poor family. The village Falasi in Rudraprayag district to which Ritu belongs falls in the Kedarnath assembly constituency.
It is pertinent to mention here that Ritu, a student of class X was admitted to Himalayan hospital on May 4 where she was diagnosed with a rare disorder GBS. In this disease the immune system of the body mistakenly attacks the nervous system and damages myelin sheath covering the nerves. The treatment of the disease is very expensive as the patient is needed to be regularly injected with immunoglobulin. Rajpal Singh Negi, the uncle of the girl and a driver by profession had to borrow from moneylenders at a high interest rate to meet the ever soaring cost of treatment. He thanked The Pioneer for highlighting the plight of Ritu.