15 March 2011
By Bapu Deedwania
Arun Natekar who had been suffering from the disease was rescued from the streets, hospital says he is ready to be released
Arun Natekar, before he was rescued
Natekar is in KEM for the past 40 days, and the hospital authorities said he doesn’t need further hospitalisation. The hospital’s dean Dr Sanjay Oak said, "Natekar’s health is much better and he does not need hospitalisation. We made several attempts to contact his family but nobody has responded.
As a last resort, we contacted Chirag Nagar police station. This is a Government hospital and we are struggling to accommodate patients." Maria Baretto from Parkinson’s and Movement Disorder Society of Mumbai, who has been visiting Natekar regularly, admitted the hospital has constraints.
"Doctors Sangeeta Raut and Yogesh, have been exemplary. The hospital has a point; Natekar can’t remain here forever. We have been constantly following up with his family but nothing has materialised," Baretto said.
Natekar has two brothers – both engineers – and a sister, who lives in Pune. None of them were in touch with him till they were alerted by Ghatkopar businessman Sameer Mehta, who spotted Natekar on the streets.
Natekar’s brother Nandu said the family was not in a position to take any decisions on his behalf. "He has been away from all of us for many years.
Suddenly if we come forward to do anything for him, we could also be blamed for having vested interests. We have no problems in helping him out if he makes it clear what he wants. We are fine with the idea of him giving his property to whoever he wants to. It is also important that people who came forward to help him in this case ensure its logical end," Nandu said.
Baretto and Mehta have a plan in place to ensure Natekar doesn’t go back to streets. "Our society will raise funds and make his house in Ghatkopar liveable. We will get someone to stay with him so he doesn’t get paranoid about a lonely death. We have a sponsor for this cause," Baretto said.
Disclaimer: The news story on this page is the copyright of the cited publication. This has been reproduced here for visitors to review, comment on and discuss. This is in keeping with the principle of ‘Fair dealing’ or ‘Fair use’. Visitors may click on the publication name, in the news story, to visit the original article as it appears on the publication’s website.
