JAGATSINGHPUR: A 70-year-old diarrhoea patient of Patapur under Rahana panchayat was reportedly carried on a cot to Balikuda community health centre (CHC) after ambulance failed to reach the village due to lack of a motorable road.
According to villagers, septuagenarian Gurubari Das was suffering from diarrhoea and she became serious on Sunday. Her family members contacted the ambulance service to transport her to Balikuda CHC. However, the ambulance could not reach Patapur village due to muddy road.
Without any option, family members of Das carried her on a cot for nearly three km to reach the main road, from where she was taken to the CHC for treatment.
Villagers claimed this was not an isolated incident, as pregnant women and other critically-ill patients also face immense hardship in reaching hospitals because of the lack of an all-weather road.
Sources said around 50 families reside in Patapur village. The nearly three-km canal road connecting the village to the main road is in a deplorable condition. The entire stretch has turned muddy following the recent rains, making it almost impassable for commuters.
Villagers said the canal road was repaired around two years ago. However, due to alleged substandard work, nearly two km of the road has deteriorated, while the remaining one km stretch has become muddy and unfit for vehicular movement.
“Absence of a motorable road virtually cuts off the village from the outside world during the rainy season. Despite repeated representations to the district administration, no permanent solution has been provided so far,” they alleged.
Sarpanch of Rahana panchayat Naliniprabha Padhi said though the canal road was repaired, it became damaged. Besides, the Rural Water Supply and Sanitation (RWSS) department has laid drinking water pipelines along the canal road, leaving heaps of mud on the route. Despite repeated requests, no steps have been taken to construct a permanent concrete road, causing immense inconvenience to the villagers, Padhi alleged.
Junior engineer of the Irrigation department Satyabrat Sahoo said, “I visited the canal road on Monday to inspect its condition. A report will be submitted to higher officials, recommending its renovation at the earliest.”