Paralysed man given eviction notice

Having been shot twice in the chest by bandits in 2012, Marcus Ganesh, 37, survived but is paralysed from his neck down. The father of an 11-year-old girl lives daily in tremendous pain and must be assisted to do basic things.

To make things worse, Ganesh was last week given an eviction notice by the Housing Development Corporation (HDC) to leave his Cashew Gardens, Longdonville home. Speaking to Newsday on Sunday, Ganesh wept unashamedly as he spoke of his fear for what the future may hold.

He recalled being handed keys to the house by the HDC in April 2015 under the People’s Partnership. Ganesh said he is unable to make payments because of his condition. “I have a disability grant of $1,800 in which I must pay utility bills and maintain my wife Karen and daughter Emily,” Ganesh said. The monthly installment for his home is $800.

And while this sum may appear to be paltry to some, Ganesh said that apart from having to pay for groceries and utilities, his disability cheque must also cover the cost for his medication.

He is pleading with Minister of Housing Randall Mitchell and Minister of National Security Edmund Dillion to look into his matter and allow him tenure on grounds of him suffering a disability cause through no fault of his.

“I am a victim of crime. I have become paralysed and now my family is fighting to survive on what little government assistance we get,” he said, adding that his wife has to see to his every physical need during the day and night as they cannot afford a nurse. As such, she is unable to go out and work.

In 2012, Ganesh was at his home in St Helena when bandits entered. He was shot twice. In April 2015, then prime minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar gave keys to houses for physically challenged individuals at the Southern Academy for the Performing Arts (SAPA). “It was a good feeling to have some place that my family could call home,” he said.

“Please, I am begging the government to please help me, please. I don’t want to end up on the street with my family. I have gone through enough when I was attacked and shot in my own home,” Ganesh said.

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