DHENKANAL: In yet another instance of failure of the State Government’s ‘Mahaprayan’ scheme, the body of a man was carried by his daughters on a trolley to the hospital for post-mortem. The incident took place at Nilakanthapur village in Bhuban block of the district. The deceased has been identified as Daitari Mallick (60). Mallick was missing from Monday night. His body was found on the banks of Brahmani river on Tuesday after a long search by the family members and villagers.
When the family’s repeated calls for an ambulance to ferry the body to the hospital went unheeded, Mallick’s daughters carried it on a trolley. The family had also tried to avail a private ambulance but it too did not respond to the call. It was a long and agonizing journey for Mallick’s daughters, who carried his body to the hospital where autopsy was conducted and brought it back home on it for cremation.
The incident led to resentment among locals who alleged apathy of the health officials towards the plight of those residing in rural areas.Meanwhile, Chief District Medical Officer Dr Basudev Behera said the family did not wait till the ambulance arrived at the spot. The ambulance was far from the spot and the family members made their own arrangements for carrying the body.