Abandoned by family members, old man dies in Odisha hospital

Reported by Malay Ray
Rourkela, May 1:

A 55-year-old man, suffering from cancer and abandoned by his family members, died at Rourkela Government Hospital (RGH) in Odisha’s Sundargarh district on Thursday morning.

The deceased, identified as Suresh Behera, was later cremated at Vedvyas in the afternoon in the presence of his two nephews and some members of Lead Rourkela, a voluntary organisation.

The volunteers of Lead Rourkela had stopped the old man lying near a bus stop at Sector-2 area of the city with plate of rice with onion and cucumber on April 22. After hearing his plight, the volunteers later admitted him to RGH where the doctors found him afflicted with cancer.

Sources in the RGH said that the old man was earlier admitted to the hospital by his family members on April 19 as he was suffering from jaundice.

However, the family members, instead of taking him to home after he was discharged from the hospital, left him at the bus stop shed.

After coming to know about the death of this old man on Thursday morning, the volunteers of Lead Rourkela went to Raghnathapalli and lodged a complaint in Sector-3 police station demanding action against the family members who had deserted the ailing old man.

“We were about to take the body for cremation when two nephews of the deceased— Himanshu Behera and Ajay Behera reached the spot and confessed that they were forced to abandon their uncle due to poor financial condition,” said A Mohanty of Lead Rourkela.

The body was later cremated in the afternoon at Vedvyas, he said.