Differently abled trader abandoned by wife appeals for euthanasia

The officials at the Collectorate here, who were getting ready for the regular weekly grievance day meet, were in for a shock as a 52-year old differently-abled man from Madurai requested the district administration to end his suffering and life through euthanasia. 

G Kandasamy, a resident of K Pudhur in Madurai town, said that he lost both his hands in a train accident in 1979 when he was a Class 9 student. Eventually, he dropped out of school, but his parents supported and helped him in establishing a small business to eke out a living.

Later, he got married to Uma and both of them were involved in packaging and supplying snacks like appalam and murukku to college canteens in and around Madurai. Kandasamy said he had also obtained loans in order to expand his business.

The couple had recently conducted the marriage of their daughter Shuba, for which Kandasamy had taken loans from private financiers. However, the most unbearable thing happened to Kandasamy, who was already reeling under the burden of multiple loans, on Sunday as his wife Uma also abandoned him. She could not be reached over the phone too. 

Upset over all these issues, Kandasamy, who cannot even drink water on his own, approached a home for elders, which also denied admission as he required a helper. With no option left, he decided to knock the doors of Collectorate for mercy killing. On hearing his request, stunned Revenue officials tried to pacify him. They also informed him that steps would be taken to admit him in a home for elders soon.