This story is from April 19, 2014

'Govt should provide for destitute women in state'

NGO Bailancho Saad members demanded that the government should put a system in place to look after destitute women in the state.
'Govt should provide for destitute women in state'
PANAJI: NGO Bailancho Saad members demanded that the government should put a system in place to look after destitute women in the state. They also suggested that government-run hospitals should send destitute women admitted there to state-run homes.
The members made this statement after fighting a battle on behalf of 70-year-old Abida Beig who was allegedly assaulted by police constables and left without clothes on a road in Bicholim.

She was admitted to the Goa Medical College (GMC) and Hospital, Bambolim, after some people noticed her and called a 108 ambulance. While the police arrested the accused, Beig was looked after by the community people who raised money to look after her.
Sabina Martins of Bailancho Saad said that the problem arose 10 days after her condition improved and she was ready to go home. The nurses intimated Bailacho Saad but the NGO was in a fix as she had no place to go to. Indicating that there could be many such cases, the NGO members said that a hospital should take responsibility and transfer such persons to a state-run shelter home.
Bailancho Saad members faced difficulty in keeping the destitute woman at a shelter, as she did not have any documents. While it is unreasonable to expect a destitute to produce a proof of identity, the NGO also came to realize that not all homes for the aged and poor take in persons who are sick and mentally ill. The state government has no resources to take of the destitute, but spares no expense on foreign travels of ministers, populist schemes and entertainment, said Bailancho Saad members.
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