TV
A provider of 108-ambulance services, EMRI Green Health Services, refuted the accusation on Wednesday with regard to the alleged death of a three-year-old child from Dhenkanal district, due to ‘delay’ in arrival of the ambulance vehicle on July 16.
No phone call in this regard was received by the organisation, the agency said in a written statement.
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In the statement, the service provider stated, “Upon reviewing our backend records, we found no evidence of any call received on 16th July 2025 pertaining to the patient mentioned in the news either by name or from the stated location. Therefore, we can confirm that no ambulance service request was made to our call center in connection with this incident.”
The child died due to a delay in his treatment. The incident, which had occurred at Dangapal Ambataila Sahi under Kankadahad block, had sparked outrage among locals.
Following the child’s death, locals had alleged that the three-year-old breathed his last as the ambulance vehicle arrived in late and there was a delay in providing medical care.
The deceased child, identified as Raju Munda, son of Shyam Munda, had reportedly slipped and fallen into a canal near his home. He was later rescued by his family members, and they claimed that they had immediately contacted the 108-ambulance service to take the child to a nearby health facility in Kamakhyanagar.
They transported the child to the hospital on a motorbike. Upon arrival at Kamakhyanagar hospital, doctors had declared the child ‘dead’.
“He had gone to take a bath with his friends; he probably slipped and fell into the canal and nearly drowned. When the ambulance was called, they said they would not come. As a last resort, we brought our child to the hospital on a motorbike,” Raju’s mother had alleged.
Tribal leader Madhabananda Marandi had urged the government to take responsibility.
“I urge the State government to take responsibility and ensure that 108-ambulance services reach people on time. On several occasions, we have seen these services fail to function properly. Sometimes, due to poor maintenance or no maintenance at all, ambulances break down midway. They often fail to reach the patients,” the tribal leader had added.
