In what could be termed as a replay of Dana Majhi episode which had once exposed the crumbling healthcare system in Odisha, a man in southern Rayagada district was reportedly forced to carry the body of his nine-year-old son on his shoulder due to unavailability of any hearse service.
Suradhar Benia shouldered the body of his son for one and a half km to reach home from the district headquarters hospital (DHH).
According to sources, Suradhar, a native of Harijan Sahi of the district headquarters town, had rushed his son, Akash, to the district headquarters hospital after he had fallen sick. After preliminary treatment, the doctors pronounced the boy dead.
However, the family members reportedly did not get any Mahaprayan service to take the body of the boy home. Without any alternative, Suradhar lift the body of his son on his shoulder and started walking towards their home.
The appalling and disturbing scenes of Suradhar shouldering the body of his son and other sobbing family members following him have shocked the onlookers.
Reacting to the incident, Rayagada Collector Saroj Kumar Mishra claimed that there were enough vehicles available at the DHH to provide Mahaprayan service.
“Two vehicles were made available in the municipality to carry bodies of deceased. Besides, the hospital has its own Mahaprayan vehicles. It is not clear whether the deceased’s father was not aware of the service or someone denied him the service. If it is proved that anyone denied him the service, action will be taken against the person accordingly,” Mishra said.
In 2016, Dana Majhi from Melaghar village in Thuamul-Rampur block of Kalahandi district had walked 10 km with his wife's body after being denied a hearse vehicle by authorities at the district headquarters hospital in Bhawanipatna. The incident had exposed the poor healthcare mechanism in the State and embarrassed the Naveen Patnaik government.