Auto drivers overcome odds to serve people amid pandemic

Manikandan and Karthi ferry patients at a nominal fare

Two autorickshaw drivers have dedicated their time and energy to ferrying patients to and from the Tiruchi Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Government Hospital. The drivers say they go out of their way to help the needy during these trying times, charging only nominal fares. Notwithstanding the pressure of fulfilling family needs, P. Karthi, a debt-ridden, middle-aged man, continues serving the public even if his philanthropic mentality has meant the re-possession of his autorickshaw by his creditor. He now uses a rental vehicle to ferry patients. The other driver, S. Manikandan, lost his wife to COVID-19-induced complications last year. “She was being treated for lung cancer when she was diagnosed with the infection,” he said.