Pandram Lingubai, a 45-year-old Adivasi widow, has been ostracised and forced to live in a small hut on the outskirts of her village (Kommugudem of Jannaram mandal) for six years, only because she suffers from leprosy.
The district officials have failed to cure her
and Ms Lingubai is relying on traditional ayurvedic medicines purchased with
her pension money.
Her son Rajender and relative Gangubai,
who live in the village, bring her food every day, but they do not live with
her. Kommugudem village community head Pusam Sonerao said that they did not
have any objections to her return as she owned a house and land, but she should
be cured first.
In rural areas, leprosy is still
considered a deadly disease and people feel that those suffering from the
disease (pedda rogam) should not live within the community as it is considered
an ill omen.
Ms Lingubai, meanwhile, said that she
had become accustomed living on her own in the agricultural fields, after the
villagers evicted her. The hut she is living in had been constructed by her
family long back.
She said health workers had visited her
long ago and had given her some medicines. She added that doctors at the
Jannaram hospitals had said that they did not have medicines for leprosy.
However, she expressed her willingness to return
to the village if she was cured. Members of Human Rights Forum, led by state
secretary Atram Bhujangarao, recently met Ms Lingubai and had lunch with her
and touched her feet to show that leprosy was not a life threatening disease
and was not contagious.
Apparently 30 years ago, a woman from
the same village, who had leprosy, had committed suicide by consuming
pesticide, as she was unable to withstand the pressure mounted by the
villagers.
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