Nagpur:
Chained for 10 years due to a mental illness, Hariram Jat often talks to himself or stares at the walls. He may not be aware of the hardships his wife and teenaged children face. But his 75-year-old father sure does feel the strain.
Hariram, who lives in Bhakroda village in Nagaur district, used to work as a labourer on agricultural fields until he developed a mental problem a decade ago. Now his father Gutaram feeds him and bathes him every day.
Gutaram and his daughter-in-law have no other choice but to toil in other people's fields to make ends meet. But they no longer can afford the treatment Hariram needs.
"When my son was 25 years old I got him married with great fanfare. But after a few years of his marriage, he started to behave in an abnormal manner. Initially, it was partial but in the last 10 years his condition has worsened and we are keeping him in chains," Gutaram said.
His family once tried to free Hariram, but the 48-year-old man turned violent and had to be chained again. "There is always a danger of he becoming violent or running away from the house. We don't have money for his treatment," the aged man said.
Gutaram says he has done whatever was possible to treat his son. He has taken Hariram to doctors in Ajmer, Jaipur and Jodhpur, but to no avail. Nagaur is about 280 km from the state capital.
Not one day goes by without Gutaram wishing that the government would come to his aid.
"Whatever money I had, I have spent it on showing my son to doctors in Jodhpur, Ajmer and Jaipur. But his condition has not improved even a bit. I approached senior administrative officials here, seeking help for my son. But my pleas fell on deaf ears and no one has come forward to help me in the last 10 years. I cannot afford his treatment," Gutaram said with tears in his eyes. "I do not know whom to approach now," he said.
"We have time and again requested the government to include us in the BPL (below poverty line) list and sought some kind of monetary help for Hariram," he added.
The family has no land or regular means of livelihood and whatever money they had, they spent it on trying to treat Hariram.
As a result, Hariram's two children - 13-year-old son and 15-year-old daughter - have not been able to attend school. Instead of studying, they are left to spend their time looking after a few goats the family owns.