Cancer patients and their attendants are living on the streets and in makeshift shelters outside the Tata Memorial Hospital. People who reside in these shelters face several challenges in their life, including the inability to obtain a hospital room owing to a lack of finances.
A patient from Gwalior, Jitendra said: ‘People give us food to eat, else I have to sleep without food. I have been here for eight months and have been living in this plastic shelter for two months. We do not have money. We keep tissues and sanitizers to keep us safe from Covid. I used to run a mill. Rs. 1.5 Lakhs have been spent on treatment so far.’
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Sumitra Sah, a cancer patient’s attendant from Katihar, Bihar shared: ‘My husband’s therapy has cost us 2.5 lakhs so far. We’ve been here for almost four months and are having a lot of problems. We don’t have enough money to pay for a hospital room. We are experiencing a great deal of hardship as a result of the rains, lack of food and lack of funds. According to the doctor, we’ll be staying here for another month and a half to two months. Our son is also with us. We use bathrooms but we have to pay for it. There are thieves roaming around too.’
Ranjit, a volunteer who distributes food to the patients and their attendants stated: ‘We feed 70-80 people from Monday to Friday and 100-120 people on weekends. The packaging is sanitary and clean. Since the lockdown, we’ve been doing this. We started with a five-person team and are now growing. We make every effort to assist.’
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