Photo of Bhaskaran Haridas (left) that was tweeted and in which Sushma was tagged. Photo of Bhaskaran Haridas (left) that was tweeted and in which Sushma was tagged.

A 64-year-old photographer from Kerala has been battling for life in an Oman hospital for over 23 days with no apparent help from the Indian embassy despite repeated pleas from the local Indian community.

Things changed Wednesday when External Affairs minister Sushma Swaraj learnt of Bhaskaran Haridas’s condition after she was tagged in a Twitter post that read: “This is the life of a destitute. Please help this guy in Oman”. With it was a link to a blog post by Dubai-based Wailana Jabir narrating Haridas’s plight.

Swaraj immediately asked the Indian embassy in Oman to take stock of the man’s condition. At 10.49 pm on Thursday, she tweeted, “Our Embassy officials visited Bhaskaran Haridas of Chengannur Kerala in Al Raffah Hospital in Muscat, Oman.”

The minister, who was recently praised by PM Narendra Modi for her prompt response to the plight of Indians overseas, added: “He is on ventilator and cannot be airlifted. Embassy is in touch with his family and closely monitoring his condition.”

It all began on May 6 when Swaraj’s attention was drawn to Jabir’s blog post.

“Bhaskaran Haridas was a highly reputed photographer… In 2013, Haridas who lived in Oman’s Mabela wanted to set up a studio. Guided by prospects to come, he gathered all his earnings, savings and life into a new studio,” Jabir wrote. She added that Bhaskaran was unmindful of the medical certificate he would have to present to run da studio in Oman. Subsequently, he couldn’t renew his visa and that of his wife Mohana and son Nayana Krishna Das (14).

After that, he suffered his first stroke. Now, the family was dependent on his wife Mohana who started giving tuitions.

“It would have been possible for the family to return to India had they possessed property or savings they could depend on back home,” wrote Jabir.

She wrote that on April 15, Mohana came home to find Bhaskaran semi-conscious and took him to a hospital. “I have seen the sheer negligence of the Indian Embassy in Oman, everyday,” wrote Jabir. She added: “I realised that day more than ever that nothing mattered more than having the right documents whilst living in this country.”

Jabir wrote that she sent many mails to the Indian Em-bassy, seeking help for Haridas. “I have been pleading for some help…in arranging an inspection by the officials at the Ministry of Manpower so that Haridas can be airlifted… The Embassy hasn’t sent an official till date.”

She tweeted Thursday that her father has been talking to the embassy since Day 1. “Let’s watch it happen. Even#MADAD closed file with no action.”

MADAD was a helpline for overseas Indians launched by the Ministry of External Affairs with much fanfare recently.

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