KOLKATA: A tweet to women and child development minister Maneka Gandhi was all it took to find a mentally ill woman a shelter.The woman had been living on a pavement in Serampore for almost two years. A banker from the locality had to tweet to Maneka after her attempts at running to NGOs and the administration failed."Seeing this woman for almost two years on streets of Serampore in Hooghly district, West Bengal without shelter. Please help," tweeted the young banker at 10.15am on May 16."Please send the details through direct message (DM)," the minister replied at noon."Direct message sent though DM," the banker tweeted back at 1pm.Maneka's office intervened swiftly, asking the district administration to rescue the woman. Police swung into action and rescued the destitute woman on May 17.According to the banker, she had earlier approached some local NGOs and police so that the woman could be moved to a shelter.She spoke to the woman and traced her family to a nearby locality. The family reportedly told her the woman had psychological problems and would leave home on her own. But the woman, who is believed to be in her 30s, said she did not want to go back as she was often beaten up at home."I have been seeing her near an ATM at Burtoola for almost two years now. I did not want to give up and kept the issue alive discussing with like-minded friends," said the banker.Subhadip Mukherjee, a techie who had helped rescue another woman from Salt Lake's Sector V in a similar way last July by tweeting to Maneka, suggested that she do the same."I am impressed by the response from the minister and happy that the woman has been rescued," the banker told TOI.The woman is now at the Serampore women's police station. Police took her for a check-up and found she had psychological problems. "We have sought permission from the court to send her to a psychiatric hospital, where she can get proper treatment. Till then, she is being looked after by officers at the Serampore women's police station," said an officer.

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