VELLORE: For all Tamil Nadu’s vaunted health facilities, when a 37- year-old woman from Kurumalai in Vellore went into labour, it was by a doli that she needed to be carried for 30 minutes, before she could reach a vehicle to take her to a hospital 15 kilometres away.
Without a road or a Primay Health Centre (PHC) in the locality, the community says it has no other way to access healthcare near their hamlets. “We live on the top of the hill and since there is no medical set-up there, like a clinic, hospital or a PHC, we carry people needing medical attention all the way down and shift them to vehicles at the foothills,” said a local resident.
Generally, it takes half an hour for two people to carry someone to the foothills. On Wednesday, the 37-yearold pregnant woman, due for her third baby, was carried down the dangerous rocky terrains on a doli. She was put in an auto rickshaw waiting at the foothills, but delivered the baby on the way to the hospital. M Annamalai, another resident, said, “It is our long-pending demand to lay a road here.
We appeal to the district administration to initiate steps to resolve this issue.” A few of the locals, however, ride two-wheelers at great risk, to commute to work. Over 180 tribal families from Kurumalai, Nechimedu, Pallakollai, and Vellakalmalai will benefit if a road is laid, said Annamalai. The resident added that it would be an added advantage for them if the concerned officials set up a hospital on the hill so that medical emergencies can be at tended to immediately.