Incapacitated, porter looking for helping hand

Bhanu P Lohumi

Tribune News Service

Shimla, January 17

“I need money to save my hand from amputation. I want to live,” says a desperate Sandeep Sharma, a porter, whose hand was fractured in a landslide while working with 2 Ladakh Scouts in J&K.

“On January 13, 2015, I was on my way to a forward post from Berchok when a massive landslide occurred. Four mules died on the spot. My hand was broken,” he recalls. He says he was told that the injury was minor. But gradually his hand stopped working.

“I was discharged from duty with a token payment of Rs 5,000 and left to fend for myself. I served in the most treacherous terrain dotted with glaciers in temperatures well below the freezing point. Sadly, the Army did not take care of me after I was incapacitated,” he says.

Shelterless, Sandeep, who is of Nepali descent, has had to live in the open at the local bus stand or the railway station for the past one year. Urging the Army to come to his aid, he says despite an insurance policy worth Rs 17 lakh in his name, he has not been paid a penny.

“Doctors at the IGMC have told me that to prevent my hand from being amputated, I need to be administered three injections, costing Rs 2,200, for the next 18 months.This comes to about Rs 1.20 lakh. I only have Rs 7 in my bank account. But I don’t want to lose a hand,” he says, his face stained with tears.

Returning to Nepal is not an option. His aged parents are too poor to afford the treatment. He is now hoping that some good Samaritans will come to his rescue.