VIZIANAGARAM: A 27-year-old man, who was taken ill, was shifted to hospital in a doli (makeshift stretcher), when the autorickshaw he was travelling in got stuck in an overflowing mountain stream at Gummadiguda village of Pachipenta mandal of Vizianagaram district on Monday.
Following heavy rains in Saluru region of the district for the past couple of days, the mountain streams are in spate, creating troubles for tribals living in the hill region. Erragenni Santhosh was taken ill and the villagers were shifting him to hospital in an autorickshaw to Gurivi Naidupeta PHC when it got stuck in the mountain stream.
With nothing to be done, the villagers readied a makeshift stretcher and shifted the youth to the hospital, walking eight kilometers in the rain. They braved the slippery terrain, which posed grave danger due to rains. Initially, they were afraid to trek to the hospital seeing the guishing mountain streams cutting off the roads, but seeing the condition of Santhosh, they decided to move forward. Their phones were not working as power supply was interrupted due to incessant rains.