Bhadrachalam: Woman reunited with family after 25 years

Thanks to the efforts of the foundation’s founder and para-legal volunteer, Annam Srinivasa Rao, the woman had a tearful reunion with her family at the very place where she lived a wretched life for nearly a decade

Bhadrachalam (Kothagudem): About 25 years of the solitary life of a woman who left her home in a distressed state has come to end, courtesy Annam Seva Foundation of Khammam.

Thanks to the efforts of the foundation’s founder and para-legal volunteer, Annam Srinivasa Rao, the woman had a tearful reunion with her family at the very place where she lived a wretched life for nearly a decade.

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The stage for the reunion was set at Bhadrachalam on Friday. The woman, Shanti Devi, a native of Arbai village of Banda district in Uttar Pradesh, finally met her son, Dinesh Pal, in the presence of ASP Dr Vineeth G. She has three sons and two daughters.

“In December 2019, a resident called me and informed me about the woman. She was then living on the roads and pavements in the town in a makeshift tent with rags,” recollected Srinivas Rao, who shared with ‘Telangana Today’ the details of the woman’s rescue and reunion.

At that time, no one knew about her background or her identity since she never spoke with anyone nor did she allow anyone to come near her. She cooked and ate whatever she was able to find and used to drink drainage water and even bathed with it.

With the help of the local police, the destitute was shifted to the foundation’s orphanage in Khammam. At that time, she could neither tell her name nor the details of her native place as she was mentally unsound, Srinivas Rao said.

But with the proper nourishment and medical care, her condition improved. Recalling her past recently, she identified herself as Shanti Devi of Uttar Pradesh and said she had left her husband and children nearly two-and-a-half decades ago for reasons unknown.

Based on the details she gave, Srinivas Rao contacted the police in her native place, gathered information about her and what she recollected was found to be true. He learnt that the woman’s husband died in 2013 and her children left the village in search of livelihood.

With the help of one of their family members, he could trace one of her sons, Dinesh, who was a 10-year-old kid when his mother left the family. Her son and family members spoke to the woman through a video call and identified her. Dinesh came to Bhadrachalam to take his mother with him.

Dinesh, who is 35 now, fell at his mother’s feet as soon as he saw her, with tears of joy rolling down his cheeks. He said their family members thought she was dead and thanked Srinivas Rao for the care he showed towards his mother and to unite them.

“When I shifted Shanti Devi to the orphanage, I promised the locals that I would make her normal and send her home. I am happy at having kept my word,” Srinivas Rao exclaimed. He booked railway tickets to send her home along with two volunteers.

ASP Vineeth appreciated and thanked Srinivas Rao for his concern towards the destitute. Local volunteers Srirangam Sampath and K Nagaraju extended support in the reunion of the woman with her family.

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