For 70-year-old Bandipelli Rajamma from Lakshminarayanapuram village in Warangal district, the New Year has brought with it the promise of better days. This after Palakurthy Sub Inspector Gundrathi Satish built her a new home after her one-room house was partially damaged in the floods last year.
Satish had met Rajamma in October during the floods in Telangana. He was engaged in rescuing and providing rehabilitation to residents like Rajamma, who saw their homes destroyed and their lives displaced. The SI after a brief interaction with Rajamma shifted her to a government shelter until the threat of floods ceased.
Rajamma lived alone in extreme poverty, with no one to take care of her. Both her daughter-in-law and granddaughter had died due to snake bite, while her son is a person with disabilities. Her son abandoned her as he could not take care of her. “I could not wrap my head around how three people could have stayed in that house. That house cannot even accommodate one person,” Satish told TNM. The house, a makeshift one built with mud and bricks, had an asbestos roof.
SI Satish interacting with Rajamma standing against the old makeshift house
Satish, however, was disturbed after learning of her story. As soon as he was off flood duty, Satish met Rajamma once again and offered to build her a new house. Her old house was demolished, and a new one was constructed in less than three months at a cost of Rs 1,60,000 with the help of donors, with the SI contributing half the amount.
“Rajamma’s story upset me, I wanted to do something to help her out of the misery. So I thought of constructing a stable house for her. In the floods, the weak structure suffered damage partially,” he recalled.
Satish has been doing philanthropic work for many years and is part of a group called ‘Helping Hands’. Through them, he collected money for the house construction. Besides constructing a new house, Rajamma was provided with essential supplies that will last for at least six months and monetary help.
Among those who came to Rajamma’s aid include the wife of Panchayat Raj Minister Errabelli Dayakar Rao, Usha. She provided rice and other grocery supplies along with some money.
#WarangalPolice #Palakurthy SI Gundrathi Satish build a house for the old woman as New year's gift which collapsed during rains in monsoon. @cpwrlc pic.twitter.com/uYRxJNJa1n
— Telangana State Police (@TelanganaCOPs) January 1, 2021
The Telangana police have proudly shared their colleague’s work on social media garnering wide appreciation. “I have been involved in philanthropy for the past few years without making a big deal about it, but this somehow came to light,” Satish humbly said.