KANPUR, Feb. 4 -- After spending two decades without the ability to hear or speak, Khushi Gupta's life has taken a turn. The young woman from Kanpur, whose nearly 90 km walk to Lucknow in November last year brought her case to official notice, has begun hearing and speaking after undergoing a cochlear implant surgery facilitated following her appeal to chief minister Yogi Adityanath. Khushi underwent the surgery on January 26, and doctors said the procedure was successful. Born with a severe hearing and speech impairment, Khushi, 20, had left her home without informing her family to seek help from the chief minister. Her journey drew the attention of the state government, which arranged funding for her treatment. The surgery in Kanpur, costing around Rs 6 to 7 lakh, was made possible through joint efforts of the social welfare department, district disability officials and a charitable foundation. Khushi lives with her father, Kalloo Gupta, mother Geeta Gupta, grandmother and younger brother Jagan in a rented room in the Ahirana Gwaltoli area of Kanpur. Due to the family's limited income, Khushi could not attend school, while Jagan is studying in high school. Kalloo Gupta earlier worked as a private security guard but left the job around eight months ago. He now drives an e-rickshaw, earning about Rs 300 to 400 a day. Geeta Gupta works as a cook in several households and earns around Rs 7,000 a month, of which about Rs 4,000 is spent on rent and electricity. Khushi, who wants to become a police officer, left home on November 22, 2025, carrying two handmade sketches to meet the chief minister. Kalloo Gupta said he came to know about his daughter through a phone call from Lucknow after she was found crying near the chief minister's residence. "It was her sole wish to meet the chief minister. The CM met her, blessed her and arranged her treatment," he said. Since surgery, doctors say Khushi is responding to sounds and has started speaking in broken words. According to her father, the first word she spoke was "Thank Yogi ji." Specialists said that with regular speech therapy, she could be able to communicate normally within a year....