Though the Odisha government claims to have taken all steps to provide better road connectivity in rural areas, another incident of a patient being carried on cot in absence of a proper road has come to the fore from Jajpur district.
A critical ill woman of Firozabad village under Korei block in the district had to be carried on a cot for more than one kilometre to the ambulance on Friday in absence of a motorable road.
According to reports, the health condition of a woman from the village deteriorated on Friday. Her family members soon called for an ambulance to carry her to a hospital. However, the ambulance could not come to the village to pick up the patient due to the unavailability of road connectivity. The ambulance parked at a place one kilometre away from the village.
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Left with no other choice, the villagers then carried the woman on a cot through the uneven and muddy road of more than one kilometre. Thereafter, the patient was taken to the nearby hospital for treatment in the ambulance.
Meanwhile, the villagers have expressed strong resentment following the incident and alleged the local administration's apathy.
“As the village doesn’t have a motorable road, we had no other option but to carry the woman on a cot to the ambulance. Only motorbikes and bicycles ply on the road and the condition gets even worse during the rainy season, thanks to the sheer apathy of the administration,” said a villager.
“Despite our repeated requests, the administration has not yet sanctioned a pucca road for our village,” he lamented.
However, the Block Development Officer (BDO) of Korei said she is unaware of the incident and will take necessary steps soon. “We will look into the incident with the help of our field officials and take necessary action at the earliest,” she said.
(Edited by Pradeep Singh)