BARIPADA: Even as the State Government has launched ‘Ama Gaon, Ama Vikash’ for all-round development of villages, incidents of carrying patients on cots to hospitals due to lack of connectivity are galore.
In another such incident, villagers of Gudikhula under Oupada block of Balasore district had to carry a patient on a cot on Saturday due to lack of proper road. As per reports, 25-year-old Basanta Bindhani of the village has been ailing since long and his condition deteriorated on Saturday following which family members called up 108 ambulance.
But due to lack of a motorable road to the area, the ambulance could not reach the village. As a result, family members along with some villagers carried Bindhani on a cot for 2 km to reach the ambulance. Later, he was admitted to Nilagiri hospital.
“This was not the first time as even expectant mothers and critical patients were carried on cot. It is not a new issue for the village. The ambulance could not reach the village due to poor roads. So, we carried my son to the ambulance stationed far from the village,” said Jalandhar Bindhani, father of the patient.
Locals complain that the village is surrounded by dense forest and there is neither communication facility nor concrete road to the village. Though they drew attention of the department concerned several times to the problem , no effort is taken yet, villagers alleged.