Donate liberally for good cause; palliative care in Madurai gets new block

MADURAI

Donating for a noble cause not only gives peace and satisfaction, but also a sense of togetherness, said speakers at the inaugural of a new block of the Aishwaryam Trust’s Nethravathi Pain Palliative Care and Rehabilitation Centre, Vilachery, here on Sunday.

The Trust came into existence after a small group of seven young like-minded medical professionals felt the need for taking care of elderly and abandoned people by families for various reasons. The idea, slowly, but steadily, grew up in the right direction after a couple K Janardhanan and his wife R Jalaja Janardhanan volunteered to gift their 27 cents of land in Joseph Nagar, Vilachery.

After proving their mettle since 2015, the team of doctors led by its managing trustee Dr Balagurusamy, Dr Sabari Manikandan and others started getting more and more patients, particularly, from the downtrodden sections. While some of the inmates were lucky to get reunited with their families, others had to be in the medical observation till their end. In a nutshell, everyday, the Centre required not only volunteers to serve the in-patients, but also contribution from philanthropists in and around for effective delivery.

Stepping in, the family members of Shyam Prakash Gupta, an industrialist and former CII Chairman (Madurai chapter) decided to gift a new block for the Aishwaryam Trust, which can house about 50 to 70 patients.

Inaugurating the new block, Thiagarajar Mills Chairman Karumuttu T Kannan said that he was immensely moved by the philanthropy act of Jalaja and her husband Janardhanan for the Aishwaryam Trust. Appreciating the team of doctors as Good Samaritans, who were the brain behind giving comfort to the patients, he hoped it becomes a people’s movement. He lauded the initiative of Mr. Shyam Prakash Gupta and his family.

Giving them an assurance that the Trust would get ample support, Mr Kannan, wanted the general public to visit the Rehabilitation Centre and see for themselves the infrastructural facilities. This would encourage more people to step into the act of gifting, which would give a new hope and meaning to the lives of those who required medical attention till the end.

The Trustees honoured its volunteers and philanthropists including Hari Thiagarajan Executive Director of Thiagarajar Mills, Chitra Thulasiraj and Dr Kim of Aravind Eye Hospitals, industrialists Ligi George and Vasudev Gupta, Aggarwal Sabha’s Mahila Samaj former president Pratibha Singhal, Fortune Pandyan Hotels Director G Vasudevan, TVS Schools president R Srinivasan on the occasion. Senior IAS official M. G. Rajamanickam offered felicitation and Dr Sabari Manikandan welcomed the gathering.