No road, elderly woman carried on cot for 3km to ambulance in Odisha's Kalahandi

An elderly woman had to be carried on a cot for 3 km to reach an ambulance in an Odisha village. This speaks volumes about the existing infrastructure and lack of proper roads which still remain a distant dream for scores of people even after 77 years of Independence. 

The relatives of the patient had to wade through knee-deep water and cross a river with the cot on their shoulders. The heart-wrenching incident was reported from Khamanpada village under T. Rampur block of Kalahandi district. 

Well, this isn’t the first time a patient was carried on a cot. This has become a regular affair for villagers here due to the lack of a motorable road in the area.

Moreover, locals have to risk their lives and cross a river to reach the other side where the ambulance waits, sources said. Due to the lack of a bridge over the river, people often wade through knee-deep water to reach the other side.

According to sources, an elderly woman Chandrika Gouda sustained injuries after she fell down following which family members called an ambulance. However, the ambulance could not reach the village forcing the locals to carry the injured woman on a cot.

After carrying her for almost 3 km, the family members reached the ambulance from where she was taken to T. Rampur Community Health Centre (CHC). After preliminary treatment, she was later shifted to Bhawanipatna-based District Headquarters Hospital (DHH) for better treatment.

The pleas for a proper road by the villagers have been falling on deaf ears of the administration. Meanwhile, the district administration officials could not be contacted over the matter.