Pavement dweller put social responsibility above the need to save herself and her daughters
“I just did what felt right to me,” says the 50-year-old pavement dweller. Kalan opened a manhole on Tulsi Pipe Road in Matunga West to let out the rolling waters during last week’s heavy rain, but even as her tent and all her savings were washed away, she stood at the spot for seven hours to warn motorists.
Her aim was to avoid a tragedy similar to the one that claim renowned gastroenterologist Dr Deepak Amarapurkar’s life on August 29, 2017. Dr Amarapurkar drowned in a manhole in Parel while on his way home after locals removed its lid during heavy rain to drain to drain out floodwater. His body was found two days later in Worli.
Kalan’s sense of social responsibility has brought her viral a video of her standing in the pouring rain next to the open manhole, guiding motorists, has been shared widely, and policemen have come forward to laud her presence of mind.
The flower vendor made the footpath outside Matunga station her home decades ago owing to its proximity to the Dadar market. Two of her eight children live with her; the remaining ave married and moved on. Her husband, who was left paralysed after a train accident 15 years ago, lives separately.
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