Unable To Go Home Due To Lockdown, MP Man Offers His Tongue At Temple To Stop COVID-19 Spread
The nationwide lockdown which began on March 25 has left a devastating impact on the millions of people across the country.While almost everyone has been affected by the lockdown in one way or the other, the worst affected are the migrant workers, who used to live hand-to-mouth, in a big city far away from their home.?
With no income, most of them are struggling to survive and are desperate to go home.
However, the desperation of one migrant worker took a tragic turn in Gujarat's Banaskantha district on Saturday after he chopped off his tongue, apparently to please the Gods to prevent the spread of COVID-19.?
Vivek Sharma was one of the eight stone sculptors who were working on the extension of the Bhavani Mata temple in Suigam for the past two months.?
But after the lockdown was announced, Sharma who hailed from Morena district in Madhya Pradesh had become extremely homesick and restless, and wanted to go back to his native village but couldn't.On Saturday, Sharma was found lying unconscious and covered in blood at the temple of Nadeshwari Mataji at Nadeshwari village in Sui Gam, with the tongue in his hand.?
"We found him holding his chopped tongue in his hand and rushed him to Sui Gam hospital," said police sub-inspector H D Parmar was quoted as saying by PTI.The temple priest who spotted him called the Border Security Force commander, as the temple is looked after by the BSF and Sharma was shifted to a hospital in Tharad town where doctors are trying to reattach his tongue.?
A local BSF official told PTI that Sharma might have thought of offering his tongue by way of sacrifice to the goddess so that circumstances change and he could return home.However, police said they can not ascertain what exactly happened until he recovers and his statement is recorded.?
According to The Times of India, a co-worker, Sharma was a devotee of Kaali Mata and kept chanting the deity's name. On Saturday morning, he left Bhavani temple saying he was going to the market. However, when he did not return, his brother called his mobile phone. Someone answered and told him Vivek had chopped off his tongue at the Nadeshwari temple.?
Last week, in a similar incident a daily wage worker had committed suicide in Gurugram after he failed to find work and was unable to feed his family.? ? ? ?
