Mumbai ( CNN ) -- Just a few weeks ago , a young boy tied to a bus stop in Mumbai barely received a glance from passersby oblivious to his plight . Deaf and mute , nine-year-old Lakhan was regularly tied to a pole by his elderly grandmother for fear he would run into traffic on a nearby road while she was away at work . Now , grandmother and grandson are living in a home for deaf and mute children , the patch of pavement where they both lived swapped for a roof above their heads . After reading about Lakhan on CNN in June , people wrote , tweeted , messaged , called and emailed from around the world . Many wrote to express their concern . Some wrote to ask how they could help . Others sent funds to help rehabilitate Lakhan . One person started a Facebook page to raise awareness about his plight . The response was overwhelming . `` I was under the impression -- 'who cares for such stories ? ' '' said Meena Mutha , a social worker with the Manav Foundation . She 'd been trying to find Lakhan a more suitable home since placing him in a government-run shelter for juveniles in June . It was better than the street but not suitable for a boy with cerebral palsy who needed dedicated care . Mutha took on Lakhan 's case in late May when a constable called her after seeing the boy 's photo in a local newspaper . Lakhan was tied to a pole with rags and his elderly grandmother , Sakubai , was obviously struggling to take care of him as well as herself . `` He is deaf so he would not be able to hear traffic coming . If he ran onto the road , he 'd get killed , '' Sakubai told CNN in June . `` See , it 's a long rope , '' she said , holding out a piece of frayed cloth . There were many similar pieces of cloth tied to different poles . A life of struggle . Sakubai told CNN Lakhan 's father had passed away four years ago . His mother deserted them and his older sister ran away . She had done the best she could , selling trinkets on a nearby beach to earn a meager wage to feed them . There was no money for shelter so she stretched out a piece of cloth on the ground behind the bus stop where they both would sleep . Mutha struggled to find Lakhan a suitable home . Mumbai only has one government-run center for children with special needs and there was no room left for him . Her exasperation turned to hope when a father and son team , Alok and Parth Polke , stepped in with an offer to take in Lakhan for free . They also offered his grandmother a job in their hostel , in Satara , a scenic hill town not far from Mumbai . `` Lakhan 's a special case , '' said Alok Polke , who runs Samata Shikshan Prasarak Mandal ( SSPM ) , a non-governmental organization that caters to deaf and mute children . `` His father died , his mother and sister abandoned him . He 's left alone . What happens after his grandmother ? '' Hostel offers new hope . CNN accompanied Lakhan , his grandmother and Mutha to Satara . He 's the first mentally-challenged student to live in the SSPM hostel , which until now has only been for children who ca n't hear or speak . Polke said there were `` thousands of Lakhans in India '' who desperately need a roof over their heads . He said there are some homes for children who are deaf and dumb because they are comparatively easier to look after . However , children who are mentally-challenged need dedicated help : more staff , attention outside of school hours , funding , and infrastructure . `` That 's lacking everywhere in India , '' Polke said . Lakhan appeared to settle in quickly into his new surroundings . Within an hour of reaching the hostel , he was running around in the yard , playing with the other children , each one a child of special needs , each one quickly engaged in a game of tag . They are some of the more fortunate ones . Lack of care in India . According to the last census conducted in 2011 , around 26.8 million people are in living with disabilities in India . That 's 2.2 % of the population of more than 1.2 billion . Other bodies , including the World Bank , say the figure is much higher . Many of them are children whose needs are n't being met by government shelters . Even the government admits the lack of facilities for disabled children in India is a serious problem . `` There should be lots more institutions for these kinds of children , '' said Vijaya Murthy , a member of the government-run Child Welfare Committee in the state of Maharashtra . When asked why the state had not established more institutions , she said the responsibility did not lie with the government alone . `` Society and government should come forward and have some rehabilitation plans for special needs children , '' she said . She was unable to provide details of any specific plans the government has to rehabilitate thousands of other children like Lakhan in India , many of whom remain invisible and ignored . For more information on how to directly help Lakhan , and people like him , go to manavfoundation.org.in .
SSPM met Mutha on the pavement in Lakhan where he lived with his grandmother . She had tied him to a pole to stop the deaf and mute boy from running into traffic . People emailed and phoned asking how they could help him . Mumbai was taken in by CNN , a non-governmental organization .