Davangere:Abandoned by her husband, Sushilamma, a mentally-ill woman from Shivamogga district, Karnataka, lived away from her hometown in Manali of Himachal Pradesh for four long years. However, she has now finally returned to her home state with a series of collective efforts by ETV Bharat. ETV Bharat was the first to publish Sushilamma's story on her struggle in dealing with her mental illness, in a faraway unknown place.
The language barrier, different atmosphere, different people, food and culture were taking a toll on Sushilamma's health. Her condition only worsened day by day.
ETV Bharat took initiative to reach her with the help of Suneela Sharma, a social activist based in Shimla.
Later, a word was put across to Davangere Deputy Commissioner GN Shivamurthy, who then took over the case to bring Sushilamma home. This was followed by an official from the Karnataka government who visited Sushilamma in Shimla to procure more details about her.
"ETV contacted the district administration and Deputy Commissioner at Davangere to convey that a woman from Karnataka is stranded in Shimla and she has to be rescued. She has been now brought back to Karnataka. The social media and ETV have rendered their help to bring her back," said Shashidhar from Differently Abled Welfare Department.
Sushilamma is now admitted in the State Home for Women in Davangere.
Karnataka government appreciated the ETV Bharat's efforts for its worthy initiative.
Sushilamma's Past
She was abandoned by her husband after 11 years of marriage. The couple separated due to her husband's extramarital affair, which had a severe impact on Sushilamma's mental health.
Depressed, and heartbroken Sushilamma reached Himachal Pradesh without any knowledge of the place, where she was spotted and then admitted to the State Homen for Women, Shimla.
She was then shifted to an NGO, named Adarsha.