Mysuru:  A Home Guard, who fainted during the route march that was held on Aug. 29 to instil confidence among voters for the election to the Mysuru City Corporation (MCC) on Aug. 31, died at a private hospital this morning.

The Guard’s family that has been waiting for his salary since the last three months is shell shocked as they have lost the sole bread-winner. The family, with two girl children one of them unemployed, has no means to sustain now and stares at a bleak future.

M. Ananthu (49), a resident of Gayathripuram in city and serving as Home Guard at KR Traffic Division, participated in the 6-km route march on Aug. 29, two days before MCC polls.  

The route march criss-crossed the city and at one point, Ananthu, unable to bear the exhaustion and fatigue, collapsed en-route.

He was rushed to a private hospital first where he slipped into  coma. Later, he was shifted to a government hospital where the doctors told the family that his condition was critical. So the family shifted him to a private hospital hoping that he could be revived. But Ananthu died this morning.

The family resides in a rented house. The family members and his colleagues said that Ananthu was not paid his salary since the last three months.

He was drawing a salary of Rs. 11,400 per month and the family somehow managed the expenses. “It was tough for Ananthu to run the family as he was not paid since the last three months,” a family member told SOM.

Ananthu’s colleagues said that there were 1,800 Home Guards serving in Mysuru District and 800 of them were working in Mysuru city. “None of the Guards have received their salary since three months. Moreover, if any accident happens like it happened to Ananthu, we don’t have Provident Fund and ESI facilities,” a Home Guard said on condition of anonymity.

Ananthu’s last rites were performed in city this afternoon.