India grandmother 'dumped on tip'

[Neo]

India grandmother 'dumped on tip' ​

Authorities in India's southern Tamil Nadu state plan legal action against the relatives of an elderly woman who was found abandoned on a rubbish tip.

Chinnammal Palaniappan, who is thought to be 75, told locals who found her she was driven miles from home in a cattle feed cart and dumped by family members.

She is in the care of local officials while they try to trace her relatives.

Tamil Nadu state Social Welfare Minister Dr Poongothai told the BBC she was "horrified" at the news.

There was no anger in her, only a flood of sorrow as she begged us to take her back to her daughter

Rescuer P Mohanasundari

"Once we know who the family members are we are going to take legal action against them," Dr Poongothai told the BBC Tamil service.

She said she believed the woman was partially deaf and had not been fed properly for three days.

"She is under the custody of the state at the moment, and she is being looked after. The police are trying to talk to her."

'Moaning'

Locals in Erode district of the state told the AFP news agency of their horror at finding the ill woman lying amidst ******* garbage.

"We heard some moaning from the dump yard and when we went over we were shocked to find an old shrivelled woman lying in *****," housewife P Mohanasundari said.

She and her husband took the woman home and fed her before alerting charity workers.

"Chinnammal broke down recalling how her grandsons put her in their motorcart, which they used for transporting cattle feed, and drove a long distance before dumping her in garbage," Mohanasundari told AFP.

She said the grandmother had recalled how her daughter told her grandsons to leave her far away, so she would not be able to find her way home.

"There was no anger in her, only a flood of sorrow as she begged us to take her back to her daughter," Mohanasundari said.

'Vulnerable'

Elderly people have traditionally been looked after by their families in India, although this is starting to change with the pressures of modern life.

Dr Poongothai conceded that social change was making old people more vulnerable.

But she said the law was clear and if children did not take responsibility for looking after their old parents they could be in breach of the domestic violence act and prosecuted.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6907269.stm

 

[Neo]

Elderly people have traditionally been looked after by their families in India, although this is starting to change with the pressures of modern life.

Dr Poongothai conceded that social change was making old people more vulnerable.

Whats is becoming of our society.

 

[Adux]

Its not easy to live without money,

Poverty poverty poverty. Its a long time before India gets her population out of the grip of poverty

 

[roadrunner]

Its not easy to live without money,

Poverty poverty poverty. Its a long time before India gets her population out of the grip of poverty

Poverty my ***. This is a case of a sadistic ungrateful Bharati ****** trying to make a statement. The fact that her grandsons listened to the daughter is criminal, the fact this poor old woman wants to go back to her daughter is worse. There are plenty of places to dump an old woman, perhaps an old person's home (unless they still don't have them there in the world's greatest democracy and emerging superpower), or somewhere else, but a rubbish tip is just sadistic. Poverty does not make one do something so sadistic, it's just pure evilness, I would be interested to know how prevalent it is in Bharat now.

 

[Maddy]

Whats is becoming of our society.

Degrading value systems, those buggers should be lynched.

Had the old woman cared for money in her time these idiots would'nt have been in this world in the first place. Or better yet thrown in the dumpster as soon as they were born.

It's sad that people give more importance to money

 

[Chrome9]

Totally agree with you Maddy, it's not that money is the problem it's that society as a whole is becoming more materialistic and loosing it's ethics that their forefathers would of held sacred. I mean the treatment of elderly in such derogatory manner just shows the lack of respect and is disgusting. Its not the size of your wallet but the size of your heart that counts here.

 

[Samudra]

There is a reason why I want to die before I reach 65.

 

[joey]

This is a definite problem among All sort of families I have seen, While my own grandmom is ill and my mom takes utmost care of her so does her other daughters, but it is not the case everywhere.

Old age homes are not there in adequate to serve their daily food needs, families specially in joint family when splits leaves these peoples without much care, the reason many flocks to old age homes, or places like varanasi/ashrams/ngo places. Many times it happens due to poverty say the grand mom needs some major treatment yet no surity if she will recover or not, manytimes negligency happens due to property inheritance issues if she didnt made her will etc etc.

 

[joey]

This case is a clear example of poverty in villages, perhaps she was being a burden, too much care needed, and money needed to spend behind her illness, normally people suffer multiple organ issues while they are old and needs constant treatment, which is very much ill-affordable by still many in my country.

 

[KashifAsrar]

I think it is not the poverty that is the main factor. Attitude, respect, breaking social and cultural fabric all play a role. And this phenomenon is not exclusive to some area or country, but every where.
Kashif

 

[blitz]

Kashif is right. Its got nothing to do poverty, but rather the break down of social fabric. Indians in general were a poorer lot earlier, but such episodes occurred much less. Rampant consumerism, unchecked westernization, break down of family structure, these all play their part. Its the price of development. Nothing comes for free.

 

[Neo]

Capitalism usually kills social and curtural stengths of the society, we've seen that happen in all parts of the world.
India and later Pakistan will not be spared from this phenomenom, its a sad developpemnt.

 

[usman213]

There is a reason why I want to die before I reach 65.

its ok when you are 70 if no one else looks after you i will look after you my fiesty sam.