Naan autokaaran: Good samaritan rickshaw driver gives expectant mothers free rides to govt hospitals

Coimbatore: It was a month ago that A Ramasamy, an autorickshaw driver hailing from Kallakattupudur, noticed a heavily pregnant girl walking under the scorching sun to reach a government hospital from a bus stop. The plight of the girl, young enough to be his daughter, struck a chord with the 55-year-old man.
“Even a robust man like me find it very difficult to walk in the sun. I could only imagine how difficult it must be for her. When I told my wife about the poor girl, she asked me why I did not offer her a free drop at home,” Ramasamy said.

After a discussion with his wife, the rickshaw driver decided to allocate one working day of his week to drop and pick up pregnant women in his locality to the government hospitals and health centres free of cost. He has put up a board announcing his phone number and the initiative on his autorickshaw. “I decided to do it every Tuesday. So if people call me, I go pick them up and drop them in the hospital and pick them back up and drop them home. Since I only service one area, I pick up multiple pregnant women in one trip.” He has dropped 30 women in GH for check ups in the last three weeks.

Ramasamy, who worked as a lorry and then as a cab driver for more than two decades, decided to opt for flexible working hours and had bought his own autorickshaw a little over two years ago. “I decided to drive in and around Thamaraikulam and I earn enough to pay the vehicle loan due of Rs 7,300 a month and maintain my family,” he said. “While I always wanted to help people whenever I can, it was not structured. It was just money to friends in need or help when they asked,” he added.