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"Aunty Namaste."
"Behanji Namaskar!"
Almost everybody from Khoda Colony in Ghaziabad, UP, greets Doris Francis - the lady in white salwar kameej - while crossing the National Highway-24. Most of them do not even know her name, but they all respect her for the selfless service she does here every morning.
Holding a stick in her hand like a traffic policeman, 59-year-old Dorris used to control the traffic at Khoda Colony Junction, one of the busiest on NH-24, every morning.
But for past few weeks, Dorris has been missing in action. For the first time in 7 years, traffic was unmanageable and there were long jams at NH-24. Commuters wanted to know - where was Dorris?
The reason for her absence has shaken everyone. Dorris is diagnosed with cancer and she is fighting for her life at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS). The family has mortgaged their house for a mere 25,000 and the daughter has sold off her bike for another 20,000. Funds are drying up and the medical expenses are huge.
The reason for her absence has shaken everyone. Dorris is diagnosed with cancer and she is fighting for her life at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS). The family has mortgaged their house for a mere 25,000 and the daughter has sold off her bike for another 20,000. Funds are drying up and the medical expenses are huge.
Why the Khoda Colony Junction?
After Dorris Francis lost her daughter in a road accident at Khoda Colony Junction in Delhi, she decided not one else would suffer her child's fate. She began managing traffic at that junction and in the last 7 years, there hasn't been a single accident on her watch.
Dorris has spent her lifetime in public service, and is a silent hero for Delhi-NCR. Now, she needs all of us to come together and help her. This woman has worked tirelessly every day to ensure no more accidents take place and no more innocent lives are lost.
