Noida: Job & house gone, retired Armyman spends two months under a tree

NOIDA: Job gone, savings gone and so is his brother’s flat where he stayed for days. His shelter from the sun and rain? The shade of a tree in Sector 61.
A retired Armyman has spent almost two months under a tree ever since he had to leave his brother’s flat after an argument with him. Hari Singh (59), who had retired as a sepoy and since been working as a guard for a private company, lost his job during the lockdown. With this, his savings, too, dried up in a few days.
After a brief stay at his brother’s flat, he set out on foot for home in Kannauj. But the harsh weather and the rough road exerted a toll on him. Hari could no longer walk, and the tree under which he stood became his home.
The elderly man’s plight came to the fore after a few journalists and passersby shot videos of him and circulated them on social media.
Residents recollected seeing him at the same spot ever since the lockdown began. How did he survive? On most days, NGOs distributing food came to his rescue. On other days, he went off to sleep on an empty stomach.
“His brother stays in a flat in Sector 71, but nobody has come to take him back. He had got some ration a few days ago, but that, too, was taken away from him. He is not getting proper food here and keeps crying at times,” said a woman who stays in the same area.
Hari has an Aadhaar card, which shows his permanent address in Kannauj. Other documents say he had retired from the Army in July, 1987.
After his videos were posted on social media, Noida police admitted Hari to the district hospital in Sector 30 on Saturday. An injured foot has left him almost immobile. Though Hari can stand on his feet, he can’t walk.
The retired Armyman spoke to reporters in a faint voice. Asked where he wanted to go, he only mumbled “Kannauj”.
Dr Vandana Sharma, chief medical superintendent at the district hospital, said Hari had suffered an injury in the muscles. “He has been referred to an orthopaedic surgeon and admitted to the emergency ward. It should not take too much time for him to recover because he is able to stand up.”