Abandoned-schizophrenic Gujarati to returnhome with health minister on New Year
When union minister for health and family welfare Ghulam Nabi Azad visits Gujarat next week, he has a special gift for the state an abandoned Gujarati who was being nursed in the Kashmir Valley since 2006.
When union minister for health and family welfare Ghulam Nabi Azad visits Gujarat next week, he has a special gift for the state an abandoned Gujarati who was being nursed in the Kashmir Valley since 2006.
Taking everyone by surprise, Azad on Monday morning straight away went to see Mathur Bhai Padhiyar, 41, a resident of Gujarat, admitted to the Government Psychiatric Disease Hospital in 2006.
"I am visiting Gujarat very soon. I will make the person rejoin his family back home," said Azad, who spoke in Gujarati with the abandoned patient at his cell to know his well-being.
Padhiyar's landing in Kashmir has a typical script of a Bollywood movie. On June 7, 2006, police admitted Padhiyar, who was part of a batch of Amarnath pilgrims, to the hospital following his unusual behaviour.
"He was suffering from schizophrenia. Such patients lose insight. He did not know what was going on," Dr Arshad Hussain, a consultant with the hospital, said.
The state administration has asked the hospital to nurse the patient till he recovers fully.
Hussain said Padhiyar responded to the medication very fast. "He has been clinically well for a long time now," Dr Hussain said.
The hospital administration has made frantic calls to the Gujarat police to identify the family and native place of the patient.
"Around two years ago, police were able to identify the native place of Padhiyar as Ankalv area in Ananad district of Gujarat," the hospital officials said.
Despite the fact that police informed the patient's brother Jinknash Bhai Chandu Bhai Padhiyar, there was no response from the family. Probably, the family was apprehensive of being charged hospital fee and other expenses.
"We are not charging anything from the family. We are ready to bear the travel expenses if they will come and take Padhiyar along," Dr Hussain said and added that he was fit to leave and lead a normal life.
However, his shifting was made easy on Monday by the union minister for health and family welfare. He has promised to bear all expenses to shift the person to Gujarat and hand him over to the family.
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