LACK OF ROADS LEADS TO A MOTHER’S DEATH

By Anshika Khera

A daughter carries her snake-bitten mother on her back and walks through a forest track for five kilometres due to lack of proper roads. This incident happened in Kandhamal district , Odisha   on Friday. The girl’s name is Rajani Majhi. Despite the long and tedious walk , she failed to save her mother , Balamadu Majhi , due to delay in the medical treatment.

The incident took place in the remote Dumeripada village of Mundigada panchayat under Tumudibandh block. The mother , Balamadu Majhi, was sleeping in her house on Friday night when a snake bit her. The family immediately dialed 108 to call the ambulance but the vehicle struggled to arrive due to absence of motorable roads. The ambulance could only reach up to Saramundi – eight kilometres away from their village. They were left with no option and so Rajani carried her on her back and walked for five kilometres, through a jungle pathway to Saramundi. From there , she took a motorcycle for another three kilometres to reach the ambulance.

Balamadu was first taken to Tumudibandh health facility and then was shifted to Baliguda Sub-divisional hospital where the doctors declared her dead. The grieving family blamed the lack of roads for the death and also recalled when the children lost their father in the similar manner.