JEYPORE: An ailing woman of Koraput district had to be carried in a bamboo basket by the villagers to go to the District Headquarters Hospital (DHH) on Monday. The village is 22 km away from the district headquarters town. Surrounded by the Rautaput river, it is home to 100 families.
During monsoon, the river swells making it difficult for villagers to reach the district headquarters town to avail basic facilities. Even as villagers have been demanding construction of a bridge over the river for the last 10 years, the district administration is yet to respond.
Sunita Lakri of Rautaput village under Dasmantapur block had delivered a baby two days back in the DHH and returned home after surgery. On Sunday night, she complained of abdominal pain as the post-delivery stitches had opened up. Although her family members called up the 102 ambulance, it failed to reach the main road. On Monday morning, her family members and villagers decided to carry her to the DHH.
They placed the woman in a bamboo basket and crossed the Rautaput river to reach the main road from where they took an autorickshaw to reach the DHH. They had to travel 4 km till they got an autorickshaw. Doctors at the DHH said her condition is stable. Children, too, stop going to school during the season as it requires them to cross the swollen river.