It took two years of sustained efforts by differently able senior citizen S Natesan (70) to get his grievance redressed. On Monday, frustrated at being driven from pillar to post at not being able to secure an identity card for the disabled from the appropriate authorities in his hometown Kumbakonam, he resolved to pedal 70 km to Thanjavur to meet the District Collector and get what he wanted.
S Natesan at the Thanjavur Collectorate on Monday
Thiruchirapalli:
A resident of Enanallur near Kumbakonam, Natesan has 25 per cent disability. He had applied to the Taluk differently abled welfare office in Kumbakonam two years ago for an identity card to avail of the various benefits extended by the State government. Though he constantly followed up and checked on the status of his application, the officials at the taluk office did not sanction him the card citing petty reasons.
Frustrated over the inordinate delay, Natesan decided to knock on the doors of the highest district office, the District Collector’s. As part of his plan, he started his ‘mission’ on his bicycle around 3 am on Monday and reached the Collectorate around 11 am after pedalling approximately 70 km. In Thanjavur too it was not an easy task as officials sought a certificate from an orthopaedist in Kumbakonam. For once, Natesan did not know what do to do next. Media persons at the Collectorate upon coming to know of his plight took him to the Collector M Govinda Rao, who instructed the officials to fulfil Natesan’s demands immediately. Subsequently, the district differently abled officer guided Natesan to get the doctor’s certificate and hand it over to the Kumbakonam office itself. Natesan later told reporters that after his wife’s death, he began to sell kolam (rangoli) powder on his bicycle to keep the home fires burning. He did it by riding the cycle with a dysfunctional ankle.