The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : On his feet again, thanks to Kalam

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Thursday, May 03, 2007
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

On his feet again, thanks to Kalam

Mohamed Imranullah S.

HELPING HANDS: P. Thangamarimuthu of Madurai being assisted by his mother and wife in fixing the artificial limbs. — Photo: K. Ganesan

MADURAI: September 11, 2003, was a black day for P. Thangamarimuthu (38), a former Government bus conductor here. His bus collided with a truck on the Tirunelveli highway injuring 23 people. Hours later, when he regained consciousness in a local hospital, he realised that both his legs were amputated.

Life became miserable. The plight of his age-old mother, wife and two children bothered him a lot.

To add to the woes, the Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation discharged him from service. Braving all odds, he virtually crawled to the doorsteps of every other authority seeking an opportunity to live with dignity.

Turning point

He wrote a letter to President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam in Tamil, scanned it and send it by e-mail. Pat came the reply from the President's private secretary. Thangamarimuthu was asked to approach the Nizam's Institute of Medical Sciences in Hyderabad as early as possible.

He was in hospital between April 7 and 30 and returned home on Wednesday with artificial limbs. All expenses, including for his accommodation and food, were borne by the institute.

Speaking to The Hindu over phone, the Institute's orthopaedic department head, L. Narendranath, said that the conductor was under the misconception that lightweight callipers, made of carbon-carbon composite material used in Agni missile devised by the President, could be affixed to him. Actually, he required prosthesis (an artificial extension that replaces a missing part of a body) and not callipers that were basically meant for polio-affected people.

"Mr. Kalam did not want to disappoint him. So he requested us to do the needful. The Rashtrapati Bhavan was in constant touch with us," Dr. Narendranath said.

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