Indus Valley Times

By A K Sahoo

BHUBANESWAR, MAY 15: A mentally unstable Odisha youth who went missing from his home six months ago has finally got reunited with his family. Thanks to the noble efforts of the volunteers of Udavum Karangal, a Chennai-based social organisation, who rescued the youth and restored his memory after subjecting him to a mental rehabilitation process.

According to reports, members of Udavum Karangal led by Mr Jacob and Mr Mohan spotted the youth named Binod Kumar Sahu aimlessly wandering at Maraimalai Nagar Bypass Road.

Binod, 35, was seen walking at a fast pace on the pavement.  He was wearing around 10 shirts at a time and presented a strange look.

Jacob approached the youth and successfully convinced him to accompany him.
“At the time of rescue, Binod was unable to speak anything clearly. However, he understood our gesture requesting him to accompany us to our rehabilitation centre – Shanthivanam Rehabilitation Centre.  At the rehab centre, he was very cooperative. We offered him good food and new clothes to wear.  He was referred to a psychiatrist. Our volunteer  Srinivasa Rao interacted with him daily. This helped us to extract information from him about his identity and family,” said Vidyaakar S, founder of Udavum Karangal.

Binod hails from Goudabahali village in Odisha’s Jajpur district. His father Gangadhar Sahu is a vegetable vendor.  

“During the mental rehabilitation process, Binod recalled that on the fateful day when he went missing he had come to the Jajpur Road market by bicycle to buy vegetables. However, he did not know how he got into a Chennai-bound train and landed in the alien city,” members of Udavum Karangal said.

After Binod fully recovered, the social workers called up a Jajpur based journalist named Harsha Vardhan who played a crucial role in the reunion of Binod with his family.

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Photograph: Binod Sahu (third from left) with the volunteers of Udavum Karangal