In a replay of the doleful incident in Odisha where a man named Dana Manjhi had to carry the dead body of his wife in the absence of an ambulance or a hearse, a leprosy patient in Hyderabad walked 60 kms with his wife’s body in a pushcart.
While the earlier incident was in an underdeveloped State of Odisha, the latest incident comes from the heart of India in a city which claims to be among the fastest-growing metropolises.
According to the police, a 40-year-old leprosy patient and beggar Ramulu decided to walk from Hyderabad to his hometown near Sangareddy with the body of his wife Kavita for cremation after his pleas for an ambulance or hearse fell on deaf ears. He was unable to bear the cost of Rs5,000 for an ambulance.
However, he lost his way and ended up at another place Viqarabad. Giving up hope, Ramulu, tired and exhausted, sat with the dead body by the road and started begging for money to transport the corpse.
As the distressing scene attracted public attention at the MRP Junction of Viqarabad, local police Inspector G Ravi heard the news. On his initiative some good Samaritan came forward to collect the money and arrange an ambulance.
“It was heart rending to see the man crying inconsolably and seeking help after such a arduous long walk from Hyderabad to Viqarabad. I don’t know how he managed such a difficult walk on a cold night”, Ravi said.
Ramulu had started the walk from langarhouz area in Hyderabad, where he lived on pavement near a temple towards Patancheru area near Hyderabad but lost his way and instead of Sangareddy he walked towards Viqarabad and reached there on Saturday evening.
“I could not do anything for my wife but I wanted to perform her last rites in our village Maikod”, said Ramulu when asked why he undertook the journey.