No ambulance, parents in Maha village forced to carry dead sons back home on shoulders

Gadchiroli (Maharashtra), Sep 5 (IANS) A young couple from Aheri taluka was forced to carry the bodies of their two dead sons -- who succumbed to a fever after allegedly failing to get proper treatment on time -- from a hospital to their village home 15 km away, in Gadchiroli of which Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis is the Guardian Minister, a top leader claimed here on Thursday.

A chilling video of the unidentified couple, seen lugging the bodies of the two minor boys, aged less than 10 years, on their shoulders and trudging through a muddy forest path, was shared by Leader of Opposition in Assembly Vijay Wadettiwar.

“The two siblings were suffering from fever, but they did not get the treatment on time. Within a couple of hours, their condition deteriorated and barely in the next one hour, the two boys succumbed,” said Wadettiwar, posting a video of the tragedy.

He added: “There was no ambulance to even transfer the two minors’ bodies to their village, Pattigaon and the parents were compelled to walk 15 km through the rain-soaked muddy path. A grim reality of the healthcare system of Gadchiroli has again come to the fore today.”

The Congress leader pointed out how the MahaYuti allies, Bharatiya Janata Party’s Fadnavis is the Guardian Minister of Gadchiroli while Nationalist Congress Party’s Dharmarao Baba Atram is an FDA Minister in Chief Minister Eknath Shinde’s government.

“Both make claims of how the state can develop every day by conducting events all over Maharashtra. They should go down to the ground level and see how the people live in Gadchiroli and the death toll there,” said Wadettiwar.

This is the second instance of its kind from the Vidarbha region this week highlighted by the Congress LOP.

On September 1, a pregnant tribal woman delivered a stillborn child at her home and then succumbed to her own pains after a local hospital failed to send an ambulance to pick her up on time.

The woman, identified as Kavita A. Sakol from Dahendri village in Melghat tribal region of Amravati, went into labour and her family summoned an ambulance from the local health authorities, but they said it could take at least four hours.

Left with no option, Kavita delivered at home and a stillborn baby was born. Her condition also deteriorated, alarming her kin. The family arranged a local private vehicle and rushed her to a rural health centre in Churani but since she appeared to be sinking fast, they transferred her to Achalpur and then to Amravati.

“The struggle for life ended for both the mother and the infant on Sunday morning. Both lives were lost due to inadequate health infrastructure and exposed the callous officials in Melghat. The government, which is seeking votes by paying them Rs 1500/month under the ‘Ladki Bahin’ scheme, could have spent the mega publicity blitz money for ambulances here,” said Wadettiwar.

Both incidents have evoked strong reactions on social media, though there has been no official response so far.