Menace of non-motorable road: Patient carried beneath halted goods train to reach ambulance in Odisha

A patient, who was in urgent need of treatment, was reportedly taken on a stretcher and carried beneath a halted goods train to reach an ambulance waiting for him in Odisha’s Keonjhar district.

The incident has surfaced from the Lahanda Mundasahi area under Joda block in Keonjhar, where a local reportedly fell seriously ill requiring immediate medical assistance.

Family members of the patient, identified as Govinda Munda, dialed the Odisha state emergency helpline number 108, following which an ambulance arrived near the location. However, it had to stop at Lahanda owing to the absence of a motorable road.

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The ambulance staff parked the vehicle and proceeded to attend to the patient on foot. The patient was then taken from his residence to the ambulance on a stretcher, covering a distance of about 1km.

The only mud road leading to the village further passed through an active train line where a halted goods train was 'blocking' the path.

Since the condition of the patient was serious, the ambulance staff decided to continue carrying him on the stretcher while passing beneath the goods train.

The incident soon caught the attention of social media after video clippings of the incident went viral.

Such an incident has surfaced at a time when several key public infrastructure events in the area remain incomplete at various stages. A long-awaited Lahanda-Mitkundri high-level bridge still lies defunct despite completion as approach roads leading to it have not yet been completed.

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Meanwhile, the current condition of the patient is not known but he was reported to have been taken to a healthcare facility.