Hansi, September 29
A Municipal Councillor offered an amount of Rs 5 lakh for getting a bust of her late father-in-law installed in the township at a recent meeting of the council. On this, another woman councillor remarked that she was ready to give Rs 10 lakh to get her own bust installed. The council chairperson, Ms Poonam Ellavadhi, told The Tribune that a proposal regarding the councillor’s offer for her father-in-law’s statue was being sent to the authorities concerned for their approval.

While these “important” deliberations were going on at the council meeting, the family of Mr Rajesh Kumar, a crippled youth of Sainipura village adjoining the township, was striving to arrange money for his treatment.

A daily evening newspaper published from Hisar has been voluntarily carrying an advertisement for more than a month, appealing to readers to donate liberally for the cause. The local chapter of a club has also taken some initiative in this regard.

However, till now, these efforts have yielded merely half of the amount of Rs 2.5 lakh required for the operation, which is slated to be performed early next month.

Rajesh, who used to work as a mason, fell down during construction work and sustained injuries on his spine. Following this, his body below the neck was paralysed.

He underwent surgery at a Delhi hospital and later received treatment from PGI, Rohtak. Still, he is not able to stand on his feet by himself. His family members also took him to the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi.

According to Dr G.P. Dureja of the AIIMS, Rajesh is suffering from traumatic paraplegia and spasticity. He requires an intrathecal baclofen pump implant, which involves an expenditure of nearly Rs 2 lakh.

Rajesh’s father Mr Pratap Singh, who sells sweets like pera and barfi on his bicycle, maintains that he, as well as his relatives, are already under heavy debt as they have to raise loans amounting to lakhs of rupees for the treatment of his son.