Malkangiri Collector meets girl's parents

 MALKANGIRI: A day after a man in Malkangiri was forced to carry his  dead minor daughter himself as the ambulance driver declined to take the body to his village, Collector K Sudarshan Chakravarthy on Saturday visited Puspalli village in Khairput and inquired about the incident.

The Collector met Dinabandhu Khemudu and his wife who had taken their daughter Barsha to Kudmulgumma CHC where the doctor referred her to Mathili hospital.

On Friday, as Barsha’s condition became serious, doctors of Mathili hospital asked the parents to take her to Malkangiri DHH. While being shifted from Mathili to Malkangiri in an ambulance, the girl died at Pandripani. When the ambulance driver learnt about Barsha’s death, he allegedly asked the tribal couple to get down from the vehicle with her body.

The driver dropped them at Nayakguda junction and Dinabandhu carried Barsha’s body in his arms and started walking to his village which is nearly 15 km away. After nearly 2 km, some villagers noticed the couple and informed Mathili CHC staff who helped them get an ambulance to Puspalli. Meanwhile, Khairput Block Development Officer D Mallick rushed to the village and handed over financial assistance of `12,000, `10,000 from Red Cross fund and `2,000 from Harischandra Yojana.

A case has been lodged with Malkangiri police against the erring ambulance driver, the pharmacist and the attendant. The Collector has also directed Chief District Medical Officer Udayshankar Mishra to investigate the matter.