Chennai: If not the entire nation, at least the people of Tamilnadu were intensifying their prayers for the three-year-old boy Sujith to be rescued.
Leading the lot was State Health Minister C Vijayabaskar, who was present at the spot in Nadukattupatti from 25 October, being the elected representative of Viralimalai, nearest constituency from the village in Tiruchi district.
Day in and day out, without celebrating Deepavali, he, along with several officials including Revenue Department Principal Secretary Radhakrishnan and District Collector S Sivarasu among many others, was involved in salvaging the infant.
The Minister, who is a physician himself, was regularly monitoring the health of the boy besides overseeing the operation.
Moved by the death of the child, Vijayabaskar today penned an emotional handwritten letter which has been doing rounds on social media since the day-break.
In the letter, he says, ”It was Sujith’s breathing from inside the well that made me continue with the rescue operations as a father. Not just me, but the entire world took Sujith as their own son and his crying is still resonating in my ears. I’m deeply pained. I thought he will somehow make it. We tried out best to save him without taking food, water and sleep; but he has left us all in grief. We thought he will be inside the darkness of the well resembling mother’s womb, but it has turned into a graveyard darkness. I was waiting to give him the top most treatment available, but now I have to see him in the mortuary. Now, I have to console myself because you have become God’s child.”
While a pall of gloom descended in the village, he was seen bidding an adieu to Sujith with teary eyes and folded hands. His dedication has won the hearts of several citizens from all quarters, including politicians from the Opposition. People took to social media to convey their wishes to the Minister.
However, the duty of the Minister has instigated a war of words among a few sections. They have politicised the issue and state that he was dodging the doctors’ strike that has been happening across Tamilnadu. But, sources close to him denied the charge and said he would address doctors’ issues soon.