Elderly man with memory loss reunited with family after 5 yrs

A 70-year-old man from Puducherry, who had mysteriously reached Betul in Madhya Pradesh after suffering memory loss, was reunited with his family after five years, which was facilitated by the helpline launched by the state government.
Although the man- Dr Vaidyanathan- could not speak anything clearly, he had scribbled "Pondicherry" on a paper, which finally paved the way for his reunion with the kin.
When he came to Betul five years back, Vaidyanathan was taken to an old age home at village Ud Dan in Betul district, an official of the public relation department said today.
"An alert resident of Betul, Narendra Kumar, came in contact with Dr Vaidyanathan at the old age home. Kumar filed a complaint with the 'CM Helpline 181' in June this year, after which action was initiated to trace his family members," the official added.

The complaint was then forwarded to the CEO of Betul district panchayat for further investigation, following which the officer reached the old age home to get information about Vaidyanathan.
"It was a difficult task, as Vaidyanathan had suffered memory loss and could speak only a few unclear words in Tamil and English. However, he scribbled 'Pondicherry' on a piece of paper, following which the coastal city's superintendent of police (SP), Rachna Singh, was contacted," the official said.

The SP took serious cognisance of the matter and on the basis of the inputs and leads, the woman police officer managed to locate his family members, he said.

Later, Vaidyanathan's family members, including his wife Rajlakshmi, reached Ud Dan along with a police official from Puducherry and identified him on December 11.
"After completing all the necessary formalities, they took him back to Puducherry on December 16," the official said.
"The helpline proved to be a Santa Claus as he was finally reunited with his family in the month of Christmas," he said.
Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan had launched the 'CM Helpline' a few years back and ever since it has proved a boon for the state citizens and act as a deterrent for the errant officials, sources working in the helpline said.

According to the official Betul district panchayat CEO Sheela Dahima and assistant project officer Kamlesh Bhumarkar played a key role in tracing Vaidyanathn's family.