These painful visuals from Surguja area in Chhattisgarh depict the plight of a man Eshwar Das who is shouldering body of his dead daughter Surekha. As per reports, Eshwar took his daughter to the hospital for high fever treatment.
However, after receiving preliminary treatment at the hospital, the girl’s pulse and blood pressure dipped suddenly and she passed away.
The father of the girl was overcome with intense grief. Not knowing what to do, he carried his daughter’s body on his shoulders instead of waiting for an ambulance or a hearse vehicle.
Bhubaneswar: The Year 2016 ended after ups and downs, twists and turns and happenings which made Odisha as one of the trending topics in national as well as global media.
Be it Dana Majhi of Kalahandi carrying wife’s body on his shoulders from the Bhawanipatna hospital due to denial of a mortuary van or an ambulance or bus mishaps in Deogarh and Athamallick which claimed precious lives, 2016 remained an eventful year.
https://youtu.be/hIFLZuinQyo
The State government was under attack by the Opposition in the second half of 2006 due to more than hundred child deaths in Malkangiri caused by Japanese Encephalitis whereas the sex scandal surrounding Bhubaneswar Mayor and one of the trusted persons of BJD supremo and Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik increased troubles for the ruling party.
Also read: New Year’s Resolution for 2017: Investment must be top of mind
Though the Year 2016 started off very well for Odisha with winning of the Krishi karman award for fourth time in January and sand artist Sudarsan Pattnaik bagging the international sand art championship in Russia in April, sprinters Srabani Nanda and Dutee Chand of the State disappointed the people as the athletes failed to win any medal at Rio Olympics held in August.
As a few hours remaining for the world community to step into 2017, odishatv.in wishes the New Year will bring peace and happiness.
Bhubaneswar: Dana Majhi, carrying the corpse of his wife on shoulders for miles, shook the conscience of humanity and defamed the state all over the world, not long ago. But a recent picture of the ‘poor’ tribal Kalahandi man reportedly riding a new motorcycle has taken the Internet by storm!
An unconfirmed photo showing Dana Majhi with his recently-purchased motorcycle has been trending on the internet.
Majhi’s wife, Amangdei, who was suffering from tuberculosis, had died at a government hospital onAugust 24 last year.
Also Read: ‘Body on shoulder’ shame: OTV reporter played the Good Samaritan
With no other help and money, Dana Majhi carried his wife’s body on his shoulder and the incident went on to stoke a huge outrage not only in Odisha but also across the country and outside.
Following outcry, help started to pour in from different quarters including a financial assistance of Rs 9 lakh from Bahrain PM.
https://youtu.be/ECny6EoUW6k
Are not these issues are proof of the level of poverty in Odisha? The union minister asked while addressing media in Bhubaneswar.
Also Read: BJD slams PM’s disparaging remarks on Odisha
He also mentioned the Raghuram Rajan Committee report which ranked Odisha as the poorest state further asking in CM’s constituency Hinjili in Ganjam district, people are migrating to other states or not in search of work?
“The issues like Nagada malnourishment deaths, Dana Majhi episode and Japanese Encephalitis deaths are not examples of hunger and poverty? These are the things which PM Narendra Modi highlighted. The CM should clarify and say that in his own constituency in Hinjili no one is going outside in search of work,” said Dharmendra.
Slamming the opposition Congress, the BJP leader said the party had itself raised issues like death of malnourished infants at Nagada in Jajpur district, the Dana Majhi episode and death of many children due to Japanese encephalitis in Malkangiri in the run up to the recent panchayat polls.
"Are these issues raised by Congress not indicators of acute poverty and malnutrition?" he asked.
The Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister claimed that BJP's showing in the recent panchayat poll in the state was a signal of a major change in the 2019 Assembly polls.
The poll result, he said, has left the ruling BJD in the state worried as people are set to dethrone it because of inefficiency and corruption.
"Panchayat poll results have given a clear signal that the people, particularly youth and women, are in a mood to bring about a major political change in the next Assembly polls," he told reporters.
The panchayat election outcome is "the beginning of a bigger change", Pradhan said, adding people have voted for BJP in a big way as they are fed up with the "inert, inefficient and corrupt" BJD government in the state.
Despite many hurdles and a reign of terror unleashed by BJD, people have backed BJP in a big way as they are impressed by the welfare programmes of the Narendra Modi government and fed up with the Naveen Patnaik regime, he said.
Pradhan said the dismal show of BJD in Badamba-Narsinghpur area, which is represented by School and Mass Education Minister Debiprasad Mishra, showed the pathetic state of education in Odisha.
BJD leaders would have to spend sleepless nights if an assembly segment-wise analysis of panchayat results is done as it would expose them, he added.
As per allegations, Gati Dhibar of Pechamundi village carried his daughter’s body on his shoulders from Pallahara hospital to his village. According to Gati, he sought help from hospital authorities to carry the body as his village was 15 kms away but to no avail.
“My daughter was suffering from fever and we had brought her to the hospital where she was declared dead. But as the hospital authorities denied us any help, we are carrying her back,” Gati told media persons.
Also Read: Denied a vehicle, man carries dead wife’s body on shoulders
On the other hand, the SDMO has denied of having information on any such incident stating that the government has issued no directions regarding making provisions of carrying dead bodies from hospital.
“We have not received any notice from the government regarding the Mahaprayan Yojana. We have only read in newspapers. We have not been provided any vehicle for the implementation of the scheme. I am coming to know about today’s incident from you (OTV),” said Pallahara SDMO, PC Mohanty.
Notably, the Odisha government had announced the Mahaprayan Yojana following the Dana Majhi case.
Meanwhile, acting on the incident the Angul Collector today suspended the Junior Hospital Manager, Ritanjali Swain and dismissed security guard Nirakar Nayak from his service. The collector took the action on the basis of the report of the sub-Collector.
Out of the major challenges the state government will have in the New Year is Panchayat elections which will be held in mid-February. The popularity of the BJD government will be put to question if it loses seats in the Zilla Parishads.
Besides, the ongoing rows relating to Mahanadi water sharing with Chhattisgarh government and Polavaram multi-purpose project with the Andhra Pradesh government will be a tough challenge for the state government. On Mahanadi issue, it will be a victory for the Odisha government if the Centre puts brake on the ongoing projects on Upper Mahanadi by the Chhattisgarh government. However, going by the developments of Polavaram project with the Centre declaring it as a national project and sanctioning Rs 1981 crore to the Andhra Pradesh government, the issue has certainly gone out of hand of the Odisha government.
Another challenge for the state government in the New Year would be revenue generation which was severely dented due to demonetisation drive by the Centre in November.
Despite a series of welfare measures, the state government has failed to bring down the poverty rate in Odisha especially in rural areas where 1.28 crore poor. The government has a tough challenge to substantially bring down the poverty ratio in 2017.
Besides, industrialisation will be an acid test for the state government in 2017. With the steel majors like Posco and ArcelorMittal backing out of Odisha, the state government hopes for a sizeable investment to the tune of Rs 2.3 lakh through the Make in Odisha conclave it had organised in December. It would be a real challenge for the government to ensure that the volume of investments as promised by the companies at the conclave is put into practice.
Another challenge the state government will have in 2017 is left wing extremism. Though Odisha had a major success against the Maoists with a major onslaught in October killing about 30 Red Rebels, the latter have come back with a vengeance killing innocent tribals in the district. Considering the sequence of events, the government will have to act tough to drive them out of the state.
This apart, incidents like Nagada child malnourishment, Japanese Encephalitis in Malkangiri and Dana Majhi carrying the body of his wife on shoulder had exposed the gross failure of the state government in providing health care services to the poor.
Taking a leaf out of such incidents, it is hoped that the state government will try its best to ensure that such incidents would not occur again in 2017.
“Our party would raise the law and order situation in Odisha which is now in a shambles. Among other issues, deteriorating health services resulting in the mass death of children in Japanese Encephalitis in Malkangiri district and death of tribal children of Nagada village in Jajpur district due to malnourishment, Dana Majhi, farmers’ problems, crop insurance would also be raised in the floor of the House,” BJP MLA Pradip Purohit told media persons after a meeting of the BJP Legislature Party.
He also said that BJP will also raise the issue on wrong information provided by the state government in the State Assembly and demand tabling of white paper on Mahanadi in the House.
The ruling BJD, on the other hand, is ready to take on the challenge of the Opposition.
Also Read: 35 platoons of police deployed for winter Assembly session
“We will be taking up important issues during the session including the bills that have to be passed and whatever subjects the Opposition has with it to discuss, will be discussed on the floor of the House,” chief minister and BJD supremo Naveen Patnaik told media persons after presiding over the party legislature meeting.
He further said, apart from this BJD will also raise the issue on Mahanadi, Polavaram and the difficulties faced by the people mostly in the unbanked rural areas due to the demonetisation.
In a social media, Pradhan said, “What kind of good governance model TEH Government is talking about this when it said Dana Majhi was not provided ambulance just because he had not sought ambulance or hearse from any hospital?”
The Union Minister further said the State Government has washed away its hand by submitting the report of the Kalahandi district headquarters hospital (DHH) in the House holding Dana Majhi responsible for the unpleasant event.
He further accused the State Government of washing its hands from the controversy by terminating the contractual staff nurse, who was in charge of the hospital ward in that night and ending the service of the private security agency in the hospital after holding them responsible for the incident.
As a hearse van was not provided by the hospital authorities to the family members of the deceased, identified as Pana Sirka of Ankula area, following her death, the body was taken in the trolley-rickshaw.
The family members could have arranged an ambulance on their own to take the body had they had money to arrange an ambulance.
The Jajpur incident reignited the memories of the onlookers regarding Dana Majhi carrying wife’s body in Kalahandi.
Notably, last month, the State government had launched the ‘Mahaprayan’ scheme according to which family members of a deceased can get vehicles to carry the body of their near and dear ones died at a hospital to their homes by paying a token amount.
The officials of the Bahrain Embassy handed over the bank cheque to Dana Majhi who reached here after flying from Bhubaneswar.
Talking to media persons here, Majhi said, “I will deposit the amount in the passbook of my children. They will utilise the money in future after getting education at the KISS school.”
He further stated, “I had never visited either New Delhi or Bhubaneswar. Even I do not know who donated money to me. However, I was told after knowing my story, the Bahrain Prince gave me the money.”
Majhi added, “If I had the money, I would not have suffered so much.”
While informing about it at a press meet on Monday, party vice president Sameer Mohanty and general secretary Prthiviraj Harichandan had criticised the chief minister for not showing sympathy to the family of dead home guard. They demanded a job for a member of his family.
Holding Naveen Patnaik responsible for the death of Hati, the party demanded that CM, who is also heading Home department, should take the moral responsibility and order an inquiry by an independent agency.
The saffron party will also highlight the Nagada malnutrition death, Gumudumaha firing and Dana Majhi issue. It alleged that these issues have brought shame to the State due to government's apathetic nature.
The deceased, identified as Barsha Khemudu of Ghusapalli in the district, was being taken along with parents in the 108 ambulance from the Mithali hospital where the girl child was referred to the Malkangiri district hospital following deterioration in her health condition.
However, the 108 ambulance driver asked the parents of the child to get down at Nayakguda after the girl died near Pandiani. When the crying parents of the child holding the body of Barsha were passing near Nayakguda, locals asked the couple about the matter in detail.
Following this, the villagers contacted the local BDO and medical authorities to get an ambulance to carry the body of the child to his village.
Notably, in recent past, Dana Majhi, a resident of Melhghar in Kalahandi district attracted national and international media attention for carrying his wife’s body on shoulders for 10 km from the district hospital to his village after an ambulance or hearse van was denied to him by the hospital authorities. After an intervention from OTV’s Bhawanipatna reporter Ajit Singh, Dana Majhi got an ambulance to carry his wife’s body for another 50 km to his village.
Narrating the harrowing ordeal she and her father were made to go through at the Kalahandi District headquarters hospital, Sandini said, “My father went to the doctor. When my father told the medical staff that my mother had died, the staff asked him to take her body away from the hospital since there was no vehicle available.”
Sandini's statement rips apart the version of the Kalahandi district administration and hospital authorities that Dana Majhi took away his wife’s body without informing anyone late on August 24 night.
Dana Majhi, had carried his wife's body on his shoulders for 10 km before OTV's Bhawanipatna reporter Ajit Singh arranged for an ambulance that carried the body, along with Dana and his daughter, to his village 50 km away.
Melhghar, the village of Dana Majhi, is located at the foot of Tijamali hills. The village can be reached only on foot through hilly terrain with a stream making the task even more difficult. It is as if civilisation too has found the road too cumbersome to reach the village.
Gobind Padhani, a social activist, said, “Road communication and absence of medical facility are the big problems of the area. ANM workers are the only ones who provide basic healthcare to the people here.”
The pale-eyed 42-year old tribal says despite his reluctance, he couldn’t protest and had to join the padyatra organised by the Congress party, which had begun from his village Melghar in the district yesterday and reached here this morning.
“Bhakta Das insisted that I join the rally. He said he would send a vehicle for me,” a visibly shaken Majhi said.
Ironically, the party which had strongly objected to Majhi’s visit to meet the district administration officials on the day of his wife’s funeral two days back, made the tribal man walk for about 2-3 kilometres to be part of the padyatra, in an effort to cause a major embarrassment to the state government.
However, the AICC secretary has rejected Majhi’s claims.
“I did not invite him and neither was it was needed. I had asked my party workers not to invite him. I believe the villagers must have asked him to join the rally,” Das stated.
After being garlanded by Congress party workers, Majhi, along with his two minor daughters, was asked to share the stage with the party’s senior leaders, including former MPs Pradeep Majhi and Das.
Ironically, instead of extending any help to him for the rituals of remaining days, the party leaders preferred to engage themselves in the padyatra.
Talking to media persons here, Health and Family Welfare minister Atanu Sabyasachi Nayak said; "We are analysing the guidelines of the Mahaprayana scheme and trying to further simplify it to bring in greater clarity."
The minister, however, said the state government has empowered the district collectors to bear the transport cost from the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund to provide the poor and the distressed free transport of the bodies of their kin.
“As per the existing guidelines, beneficiaries of all classes have been asked to avail the scheme by paying the required fee. But now the poor and economically backward classes will not have to pay anything; they will avail the service free of cost,” Nayak added.
Notably, chief minister Naveen Patnaik had flagged off the Mahaprayana scheme on August 25 to provide vehicles to poor family members to carry the dead bodies of their near and dear ones who die in hospitals to their homes free of cost.
The decision of the government had come a day after the heart wrenching incident in which Dana Majhi, a poor man of Melhghar village of Kalahandi district, carried the body of his wife on his shoulders for about 10 km from the district headquarters hospital before help arrived in the form of an ambulance due to the intervention of Ajit Singh, the OTV reporter who broke the story.
Accusing the Odisha government of misappropriating funds meant for the development of tribal people, BJP’s Kuchinda MLA Rabi Narayan Naik, who led an eight-member party fact finding delegation that took stock of ground realities in the wake of a man in Kalahandi district having to carry the body of his dead wife on his shoulders for 10 km, held it squarely responsible for the appalling condition of the health delivery system in these parts.
“The fact finding team observed that not a single social welfare scheme announced by the State government has reached the people. How is the State government claiming credit for successfully implementing these projects?” asked Naik addressing a press meet here today.
He alleged the state government is responsible for the pathetic condition of hospitals in this backward region.
“Our fact-finding team observed that in Nagrudihi panchayat PHC of the district, none of the two doctors appointed by the State govt was present. Only announcement of schemes will not do. The government needs to review these schemes periodically to make sure that they are being implemented effectively,” he rued.
The ruling BJD predictably dismissed the allegations saying total development of a backward area takes a long time.
“If they (BJP) really feel that the region should be developed, they must ask the Centre for special packages for KBK region. Everybody knows that Odisha is a poor state. But the Centre must come forward to help the State government for developing the region. Instead of understanding the ground realities, the BJP is trying to politicise the issue,” BJD spokesperson Dibya Shankar Mishra said.
“Through the padyatra we wanted to warn the Centre as well as the State government that no Dana Majhi like incident should recur in future. The people in the backward region here must know their rights and the problems they have been facing. They should raise voice against injustice,” former Union minister Bhakta Charan Das said.
The padyatra, among others was attended by Dana Majhi, who had walked 12 kilometres shouldering his wife’s body from Bhawanipatna district headquarters hospital five days back.
An eight-member fact-finding team of the BJP too met Majhi at his village to know in details about the incident that evoked widespread concern about the plight.
“If this is the situation in district headquarters hospital, then think about the other primary health care centres in remote areas of this district. This has shown how the State government has misutilised the welfare funds,” BJP’s Rabi Nayak said.
Admitting lapses in execution of welfare schemes at some places, the BJD said it will improve the facilities.
“Majhi’s case is the sole incident which took place in the night. When he reached at the forest check gate people saw him and came forward to help the man. We are trying to improve the situation in the region,” BJD spokesperson Dibya Shankar Mishra said.
After going through an article on Dana Majhi in the ‘Akhbar Al Khaleej’, the Bahrain Prime Minister felt that he should do something about it and made a donation to Dana Majhi, reported the ‘Gulf Digital News’.
Notably, OTV was the first to report about Dana Majhi’s sufferings after its Bhawanipatna reporter Ajit Singh talked to Majhi carrying his wife’s body on his shoulders for 12 km from the hospital and his daughter. The OTV reporter was the first person who informed the Kalahandi Collector, CDMO and a local legislator about Majhi’s ordeal and requested for an ambulance to carry the body to his village.
When nothing worked to get an ambulance, the OTV reporter, who himself had reached the spot on a bike, sought the help of the Balaji Mandira Surakshya Samiti to get an ambulance. Pramod Kumar Khamari, a local businessman, gave the money to refill fuel in the ambulance.
A distressed Dana Majhi got some relief when the ambulance arrived to carry his wife’s body to his native village Melhghar, which is 50 km far away from Shagada.
The shocking statement of the Collector came to fore when OTV met Majhi at his residence in Melghara village, some 60 kilometres from Bhawanipatna.
“First she asked what problems I faced in the hospital. When I said I took my wife from the hospital after she died, the Collector asked me whether I had killed my wife,” Majhi, who performed last rites of his wife yesterday, said, his voice choking as he spoke to OTV.
He continued: “Why would I kill my wife? If at all I had killed my wife, why would I take her to the hospital for treatment?......Had I killed my wife, I would have dumped her body somewhere and fled from the spot instead of carrying her body on my shoulders.”
The 42-year-old tribal man said he was called by officials of the district administration on Friday to give details about the incident and the reasons that prompted him to carry his wife’s dead body to his village.
Dana claimed that he lost his bearings following the death of his wife Amang Dei. He said he did not know what to do and did not even ask anyone in the hospital if he could have a vehicle to carry the body home. Explaining further, he said since they did not have any relatives in Bhawanipatna, he decided to seek help after reaching Sagada, some 10 kilometres away from Bhawanipatna.
However, the Collector has refuted Majhi's allegations.
"I asked him what problems he faced in the hospital. The sub-collector has inquired about the incident based on which we have taken action," Kalahandi Collector D Brunda told OTV over phone.
Meanwhile, after plenty of hue and cry in India and abroad, the Odisha government has said stern action would be taken against the officials involved in the incident.
“We will see if there were any lapses on the part of the hospital authorities. We will definitely take action against the erring officials,” Health minister Atanu Sabyasachi Nayak said.
According to sources, the fact finding team also participated in a road blockade organised at Ghodaghata to protest against the incident.
They, however, withdrew the road blockade after police detained as many as 15 of them, sources added.
Later, a team of the Opposition party headed by senior leader Pradip Majhi visited the village of Dana Majhi, the man who carried his wife’s body on his shoulders after being denied a hearse vehicle by hospital authorities and is scheduled to discuss the incident with him.
Meanwhile, members of the BJP today gheraoed the CDMO office here protesting the incident. The members of the saffron party staged a silent protest by covering their faces with black badges
The demand of the opposition comes a day after the state government disputed the claim of Dana Majhi that he was denied a hearse or ambulance to take his dead wife to his village in Kalahandi district.
The opposition raised the matter during the zero hour in the state Assembly on Saturday.
Also Read: Dana Majhi never sought help from hospital: Odisha Govt
"It's incorrect that Dana Majhi's wife was not declared dead and he was not denied a hearse by the hospital authority. Therefore, the demand for a House committee probe into the Dana Majhi case is fully justified," said leader of Opposition Narasingh Mishra.
An impartial probe is necessary to ascertain the truth, he added.
Congress chief whip Tara Prasad Bahinipati sought a ruling from Speaker Niranjan Pujari to constitute a House committee to inquire into the matter.
"The statement of the Health Minister that Dana Majhi did not ask for a hearse is completely false," said Bahinipati.
BJP legislator Pradeep Purohit said a House committee probe could expose the lie of the state government in the Dana Majhi case.
However, Health Minister Atanu Sabyasachi Nayak said this was just a preliminary report.
"The Chief District Medical Officer (CDMO)'s report is a preliminary report. Inquiry is going on. We have already sacked a staff nurse and terminated a security agency. We would take strict action if anyone is found guilty," said the minister.
Notably, the minister had on Friday rejected the claim of Dana Majhi that he was denied a hearse or ambulance to take his dead wife to his village in Kalahandi district.
"As stated by the patients and their attendants in that ward, Dana Majhi took the patient without anybody's notice, as they were asleep at night," said the report of CDMO.
The report also claimed that the patient was not declared dead.
"Sri Dana Majhi had never sought for any help, ambulance or a hearse, from any of the hospital staff that night. In case of poor patients, if approached, transportation arrangement is made from CMRF/RKS or Red Cross funds," said the report.
"But in the case of Sri Dana Majhi, neither himself nor anybody else had sought for any help or assistance," it stated.
Human rights activist Subash Mohapatra on Sunday filed a complaint with Bhawanipatna police station against Kalahandi district collector, CDMO and other public authorities alleging that they abused Dana Majhi and his minor daughter.
Mohapatra alleged that the officers forcibly brought Manjhi to Bhawanipatna on Friday to record his statement, preventing him from performing the last rites of his wife.
He said the district collector threatened the tribal and asked him whether he had killed his wife.
"It is unfortunate that instead of helping the tribal man, CDMO of Kalahandi shielded his colleagues and tried to whitewash the evidence by abusing and putting blame on the man that he did not contact anybody for a vehicle to take the body from the hospital to his village," said the complainant.
The Prime Minister's remark on Odisha's poverty at an election rally in Uttar Pradesh continued to rock the Assembly for the second day with Leader of Opposition Narasingha Mishra of Congress raising the matter during Zero Hour.
"This House should condemn Prime Minister's remark. How could the Prime Minister not know about Odisha's poverty though BJP was in coalition government with BJD in the state and Modi has been in office for three years," Mishra said.
Raising question on Patnaik's silence on Modi's "anti-Odisha" remark, Mishra said "the Chief Minister has not uttered a single word so far even as his party members are creating ruckus in the Assembly. I do not understand Patnaik's silence."
Blaming both the BJD and the BJP for the prevailing poverty in Odisha, Mishra said "the NDA government led by BJP has stopped several welfare schemes meant for poor people of Odisha. What prompted you to stop schemes like BRGF (backward region grant fund), IAP (integrated action plan) and others."
Claiming that Modi's remark has severely hurt the people of the State, Mishra said the Prime Minister had no right to insult Odisha at a public meeting in Uttar Pradesh.
"He (PM) was trading with poverty and miseries of Odisha.
This is unfortunate and condemnable," Mishra said, adding that the intention of Modi was nothing but to humiliate the people of Odisha.
Congress chief Taraprasad Bahinipati said many people from the Kalahandi-Balangir-Koraput (KBK) region migrated elsewhere after the Centre stopped several welfare schemes.
"A resolution should be passed in the Assembly condemning the Prime Minister's statement," he said.
The treasury bench members also joined the opposition Congress MLAs and demanded unconditional apology from the Prime Minister for his remark on the state's poverty.
The BJD members shouted anti-Modi slogans like "Modi Hai...Hai", prompting Speaker Niranjan Pujari to adjourn the House till 3 pm.
BJP member Pradip Purohit outside the Assembly said the allegation made against Modi was politically motivated and lacked truth.
"They (Cong, BJD) are intolerant to the growing popularity of the Prime Minister in Odisha. This is an attempt to instigate the people against the Prime Minister," he said.
Modi, while referring to results of rural polls in Odisha had said at an election rally at Gonda in Uttar Pradesh last week, "Odisha, where there is so much poverty, starvation, unemployment and where BJP even had no foothold to place its flag, people have given so much support that everyone is taken aback...even the poor of Odisha have come with the BJP."
Bhubaneswar: Rejecting allegation that Dana Majhi was denied a hearse by the authorities forcing him to carry his wife's body on his shoulder for 10 km last month, Odisha government today told the Assembly he had never sought any help before leaving Bhawanipatna district headquarters hospital.
Majhi had never sought any help or assistance like dead body carrier to any of the hospital staff in the night of August 23, Nayak said quoting the Chief District Medical Office (CDMO), Kalahandi's report to the government.
In case of poor patient, if approached, transportation arrangement is made from the Chief Minister's Relief Fund or Rogi Kalyan Samiti or Red Cross fund, he said.
The poor tribal from Melghar village, located 60 km from the Kalahandi district headquarters town of Bhawanipatna, had hogged headlines for carrying his wife's body on shoulder for 10 km before journalists informed the district authorities and a vehicle was arranged.
Majhi on August 24 had said he carried his wife's body on shoulder and walked 10 km after the hospital authorities refused to provide any assistance to transport the body.
"The staff nurse at the ward told me to take away the body as she has died. I also knocked the door of the doctor on the hospital premises on August 23 night to inform him about death of my wife. The doctor also told me from behind the door to take away the body," Dana Majhi had told reporters.
However, the minister said the hospital authorities came to know about the incident next day at 9 AM (on August 24) when the doctor came on ward visit.
"On 24.8.2016 in the morning round when the doctor found the patient absent in the ward, he mentioned in the bed head ticket- left against Medical Advice. He informed the matter to the ADMO (med) Kalahandi on 24.8.2016 at 9 AM. The patient was not declared dead. The patient was given adequate medical treatment and there was no negligence in treatment," Nayak said quoting the CDMO's report.
Besides, Majhi would also be receiving Rs 10,000 every month from Sulabh for education of his daughters.
The Sulabh Internationl made fixed deposit (FD) in the bank account of Dana Majhi which will mature five years from now on September 3, 2021.
"Dana Majhi will get a sum of Rs 7,33,921 after five years at the interest rate of 7.5 per cent," said an official of the bank where the FD was made.
Founder of Sulabh International Dr Bindeshwar Pathak sent a representative of his organisation to meet Majhi.
"Dr Pathak was moved over the plight of Dana Majhi and made this donation to help the tribal man," said Vinod Sharma of Sulabh International.
Sharma handed over the Fixed Deposit paper worth Rs 5 lakh and Rs 10,000 cash to Dana Majhi at his Melghar village home.
Majhi had carried body of his wife on shoulder on August 24 after having been denied a hearse by the hospital authorities at Bhawanipatna.
Though he requested the hospital staff that he could not afford to hire a vehicle to transport the body of his wife, all turned deaf ears to his plea forcing him to carry the body on shoulder.
However, an ambulance was arranged only after he had covered 10-km distance to take the body to his home at Melghara village, about 60 km from Bhawanipatna.
So far, sources said, Majhi has got Rs 30,000 and a sack of rice from the district administration of Kalahandi and promises of admission in a residential tribal school for his three daughters (Chandini-12, Chauli-10 and seven-year-old Sonai). Majhi has also another daughter from his late first wife who is married.
This apart, Majhi has also been assured a pucca house under the 'Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana' and inclusion under the National Family Benefit Scheme.
According to reports, the Prime Minister of Bahrain has offered to make financial donation for Dana Majhi.
A large number of party supporters took part in the protest organised by Kalahandi district Congress and hit out at the administration for the alleged denial of a hearse for carrying the patient's body from the hospital here to her village.
District Congress secretary Samanta Khamari said besides compensation, they also demanded an impartial probe into the incident and stern action against those responsible and adequate steps for education of Majhi's 12-year-old daughter.
They also sought Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik's apology for the incident and alleged that all welfare schemes launched by the BJD government in the state have failed and the poor people were unable to get any benefit.
On Wednesday, Dana Majhi, along with his daughter, had to walk around 10 km carrying his wife's body on his shoulder as he failed to get a vehicle to transport it from a government hospital in the backward district of Kalahandi where she died.
Amang Dei (42) had died of tuberculosis at the district headquarters hospital in Bhawanipatna.
Majhi alleged that he failed to get any help from the hospital authorities and had no other alternative than to wrap the body in a cloth and start walking to his village Melghara, about 60 km from here.
After some local reporters spotted the duo, they called up the District Collector and an ambulance was sent for transportation of the body, but by then the man had walked around 10 km.
Kalahandi District Collector Brundha D has ordered an inquiry into the incident. Meanwhile, CDMO of Kalahandi Dr B K Brahma yesterday claimed that the husband of the deceased did not contact anybody for a vehicle to take the body from the hospital to his village.
"The patient was neither discharged nor declared dead by the ward in-charge doctor," the CDMO had claimed in a release, adding Majhi did not ask or contact anybody for a vehicle to carry his wife's body.
Chandini, a student of Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences (KISS), is among the 2, 81,658 girls who have cleared the Class 10 board examinations this year. She has secured 280 marks.
With this, Chandini has become the first girl from Melghar, a non-descript village under Thuamul-Rampur block of Kalahandi district, to clear the Class 10 board examination.
Majhi's incident which caught the national and international attention and brought the limelight on the shoddy condition of healthcare and essential services system in the far-off locations in Odisha like his village is now over the moon for his daughter’s success.
“I am very delighted that my daughter has passed the matriculation examination,” said an elated Majhi.
“The school here does not have teacher and children are not interested in going to school. Therefore, no one had ever cleared the Class 10 examination from our village. Now I am extremely happy that my daughter has successfully cleared the examination,” he added.
An emotional Chandini who struggled to speak when asked to say a few words about her success said she never thought of clearing the examination by living in such a remote village surrounded by hills.
“There were days when I was crying and cursing my fate. Now I feel very happy that I have passed the annual high school certificate examination,” said Chandini.
In August 2016, a sobbing Chandini was seen accompanying her father all the way as he walked 10 kilometre carrying the body of his wife Amang, 42, who died from tuberculosis in the district hospital in Bhawanipatna town.
He was forced to do so after allegedly being denied a hearse by the government hospital. The incident created a tumult in the political arena and also shocked the conscience of many.
Eventually, Dana Majhi, who earns a living from farming, married for third time. He has now five daughters, three from previous marriages.
However, nothing has changed in the village since the incident. Though electric poles are erected, the village is yet to be electrified.
“The government is making tall claims of electrifying all villages. The poles were erected and bill metres have been installed. A transformer which was installed in the village was damaged due to flood. Thereafter, we made repeated requests to the government, but no step has taken in this regard,” said a Melghar resident.
According to reports, Mukund Dora’s eight-year-old daughter had reportedly gone missing during Cyclone Titli and her body was recovered from a nullah yesterday.
Though Mukund had reported the matter, police allegedly took some photographs of the deceased girl and failed to initiate subsequent steps to conduct the post-mortem.
With no other option, Mukund carried the body on his shoulders to the hospital for post-mortem.
The shocking incident was reminiscent of Dana Majhi who had to carry the body of his wife on shoulders in Kalahandi district in 2016.
After today’s shocking incident in Gajapati, opposition parties in the state were expectedly furious.
Senior BJP leader Lekhashree Samantsinghar alleged that Odisha government took nearly 10 days to admit loss of human lives in cyclone Titli.
“When the Dana Majhi incident happened, we had hoped that the State government would learn and take remedial steps. But today’s incident in Gajapati has again exposed the real face of the government,” said Samantsinghar.
Samantsinghar further alleged that the all the administrative officials, police and the entire state machinery is working to cover up the misdeeds of the State government.
Senior Congress leader, Pradeep Majhi also attacked the State government for doing nothing to resolve basic issues at the ground level.
“Over 13 persons are still missing in Gajapati district and the ground zero situation is at its worst. The district administration has completely failed in discharging its duties,” said Majhi.
Gajapati district collector, Anup Shah in a presser held yesterday had informed that post-mortem of 26 bodies recovered after the cyclone had already been conducted.
"Out of the 49 casualties, 26 bodies have been recovered and identified. Identity of 13 bodies is yet to be ascertained,” Shah said.
Almost all the roads that were blocked due to the cyclonic storm have been cleared, Shah had said.
Office of former Kendrapara MP Baijayant ‘Jay’ Panda too expressed concern over the shocking incident and tweeted…..
“When the Dana Majhi incident happened, we had hoped that the State government would learn and take remedial steps. But today’s incident in Gajapati has again exposed the real face of the government,”#CycloneTitli
Many like him wd hv bn aided if @PandaJay’s offer was considered! https://t.co/zA0FwxAceG— Office of Jay Panda (@mp_office) October 18, 2018
Later in the day, the Gajapati district administration extended a financial assistance of Rs 10 lakh to Mukuda Dora, the father of the deceased girl.
By Sandeep Sahu
From the dusty, tortuous roads of Kalahandi to an aircraft flying serenely 30, 000 feet above the ground, Dana Majhi has taken an incredible leap in three weeks. The man, who set off on a back-breaking trek back to his village located 60 kms away from Bhawanipatna with his dead wife’s body on his shoulders because he could not afford a few hundred rupees to hire a hearse van, is now rolling in lakhs. An embarrassment of riches has been pouring on him from all over the world after his heart-rending story made global headlines, the latest being a Rs 9 lakh bonanza from the Bahrain prince delivered to him by embassy staff in New Delhi earlier today.
Dazed by all the attention and riches bestowed on him since August 25, the poor tribal from Melghar village in Kalahandi is perhaps still trying to figure out just how much is Rs 9 lakh. It is highly unlikely that the unlettered Dana would know – even now – how many zeroes follow 1 in a lakh. The rate at which help is pouring in from all over the place, he would have to learn his maths very fast or alternatively hire an accountant to keep track of the all the contribution (he can certainly afford one now!).
But will all the money being showered on him by well-meaning people and institutions do any real good to him? Unlikely. Those who have been dealing with the world at large on this illiterate man’s behalf must be salivating at the prospect of making a killing in the process. Innocent of the ways of the world, Dana would perhaps not even realize that those who are professing their abiding concern for him today have daggers neatly tucked behind them, ready to be used at a moment’s notice. By the time Dana realizes the machinations of the village tout, the local media person, the social worker, the petty politician and sundry other do-gooders, it may be too late.
Even assuming that all these people are being guided by nothing other than empathy and humanitarian consideration in helping out Dana, will this windfall benefit him in any way? His three young daughters have now been admitted to the KISS school for tribal children in Bhubaneswar and their education will be taken care of by the institution. Even after keeping a hefty sum of money for each one of them for their marriage and other expenses, he would still be left with enough cash that is going to do him more harm than good.
Dana’s innocence could well be the biggest casualty of this veritable deluge of money, the first signs of which are already in evidence in the way he dealt with questions from the media earlier in the day. “I will deposit the amount in the passbook of my children. They will utilise the money in future after getting education at the KISS school,” said the man, who thought nothing of carrying his wife’s body on his shoulders for 10 kms just three weeks ago,
“If I had the money, I would not have suffered so much,” Dana told newsmen in Delhi. Now that he has all the money, he would certainly not suffer from deprivation. But will he remain the same Dana? Bounties like this have been known to have swept people infinitely more worldly wise than Dana off their feet. The man who has lived off his labour all his life may well feel now that he doesn’t to work any longer. He may shun his home made brew for the ‘foreign liquor’ that looks so much more attractive in its colourful bottle.
The road to vices, as they say, is paved with riches.
This writer recalls another case in Kalahandi – that of Phanas Punji - that made national headlines three decades ago. After the national and international media descended in the village one after another, Phanas Punji’s sister-in-law, who had allegedly sold her off for Rs 40 because of extreme poverty, reportedly started asking for money for every ‘photo shoot’ and haggled over the price with the buyers.
I do not doubt for a moment the good intentions of the donors. But I do apprehend that this overkill is not going to do any good to Dana in the long run. Would it not have been so much better if Dana Majhi was just given his basic needs and the rest of the money spent on building a proper road to his village, restoring the severed power supply to his village and put in place other basic amenities? Or on improving health services in the remote tribal villages of Thuamul-Rampur? Or in ensuring that no one has to carry a dear one’s body on a bicycle, trolley rickshaw or on his shoulder ever again? Or, all of this and more, if there is still some money left?
As per sources, one Nigidi Majhi, a resident of Balichara village was admitted to Kaniguma health centre after he fell sick yesterday. He breathed his last while undergoing treatment at the health centre.
The hospital authorities asked Nigidi’s family members to take his body back to home, however, they did not arrange a hearse van for the same.
Unable to hire a private vehicle to carry Nigidi’s mortal remains, the relatives of the deceased prepared a sling and carried his body for five kilometers to crematorium to perform the last rites.
“When we asked for an ambulance, they (hospital officials) said that the emergency vehicle was not available as it is Monday. It will come only in the midnight,” said a relative of Nigidi.
After the incident was telecast today, Kalahandi CDMO, Banalata Debi immediately ordered a probe into the matter. “I have directed the ADPHO (TB) and officer-in-charge of the medical to probe the matter. Further action will be taken after I get a detailed report from them,” she informed.
It is pertinent to mention here that Dana Majhi had carried his wife Amangdei’s body on shoulder for nearly 10 km after being denied a hearse van on August 24, 2016. The incident had caught worldwide attention.
After crossing the rocky and hilly terrain, OTV reached the village with a hope that things must have improved in Dana Majhi’s village which saw leaders cutting across party lines making a beeline after his story of plight surfaced.
The locals too had pinned hopes that government babu’s attention would usher in some development. However, things have not changed much even though three years have passed since. The village still lacks basic amenities including proper roads, bridge, electricity and other facilities.
“Everybody assured that there will be better roads and other facilities, all such assurances proved to be false,” said Yudhistir, a local resident.
The only thing that could bring some solace is the fact that our Dana Majhi appeared much content as he was seen playing with her daughter from his third wife. Dana Majhi is happy with his family now. After purchasing a motorcycle from the money that he received as assistance, he has now started construction of a pucca house as well.
“Somehow I am surviving with my family. Bulk of the construction work of my house is complete,” said Dana Majhi.
Majhi further stated that the condition of the village is yet to improve. Though BDO had inspected the dilapidated condition of the school, steps are yet to be taken to repair it.