by Nirmala Carvalho

The father, a vegetable vendor, did not have the 300,000 rupees necessary to treat his daughter’s renal failure. The girl was saved by a fisherman, but her father has disappeared and the police are searching for him. Now a hospital has offered to treat the girl free-of-charge.

New Delhi (AsiaNews) – A fisherman has saved a seven-year-old girl whose father threw her in the river because he could not pay the steep expenses necessary to treat her. Sarita has suffered from renal failure for three years and in recent weeks, she had been receiving treatment in a hospital in Mumbai. Her father, Bakheru Sonkar, a resident of the village of Devkali, district of Jaunpur (Uttar Pradesh), is a vegetable seller and he cannot afford to pay for the long treatment, which according to police would cost at least 300,000 rupees. On 9 July, he accompanied his daughter to Mumbai, but he has been accused to pushing her into the river when they returned.

Fishermen rescued Sarita after they heard cries of "Papa, papa...help me." The child was admitted to a local hospital after being rescued. The father disappeared and police are searching for him.

Sarita has returned home. Her mother is at a loss to explain what her husband has done, especially after he had been taking his daughter for treatment for five months. She considers it a “moment of madness, he was worried as he has four other children and also his ageing mother to support.” Babuna, Sarita’s paternal grandmother, said: “My son did his best to get Sarita treatment, even taking her to Mumbai for four months, we are poor people, I only hope he is safe and returns safely back home, never mind if the police get him, but I am worried about his safety.”

The story appeared on television and moved public opinion. Now Sarita has received an offer to be treated free-of-charge. Sudarshan Ballal, the director of Manipal Hospital said: ''We were shocked to see this story...her father throwing Sarita away because her treatment would cost 300,000 rupees.” He added: “'I am in the field of nephrology and Manipal hospital has a history of helping poor families. We thought we could pool our resources together and offer free treatment.”

In India, every year about 150 000 to 200 000 people develop severe kidney failure and 95 per cent die a slow painful death because like young Sarita, most of them cannot afford the treatment.

• india
• economy
• health
• disease
• hospital
• poverty
• treatment
• medical