TIRUPPUR: A 40-year-old tribal man Palanisamy who was carried in a doli (palanquin) for four hours from Kurumalai, a tribal hamlet in Thirumoorthy hills, and then by ambulance to Udumalaipet GH, which is 5.8 km away, died within hours of admission on Tuesday.
What upset the tribals more is that his body could not be transported to his village for final rites because there is no road. He was buried on Thirmoorthy Hill on Wednesday morning.
The lack of a road is the main reason for the delay in taking Palanisamy to the hospital.
Taking turns, six youths had carried Palanisamy in a doli across a dry water channel and rocky terrain for around four hours. Around 6 pm, the group reached Udumalaipet GH by ambulance. But Palanisamy did not respond to treatment and died.
"Had there been a road, we could have taken him to the hospital on time,” said N Manikandan, a resident of Thirumoorthy Hills.
Sources in the Udumalaipet GH said that Palanisamy had been suffering from a lung infection for several days and had died of cardiac arrest. “On Tuesday, he was admitted at 5.30 pm with a complaint of stomach pain and an inability to urinate. After treatment, he became normal. But he hadn’t consumed food for three days and was dehydrated. After some time, he complained of breathing difficulties. We checked and found that his SPO2 level was 78-80. Also, he had a deformed lung and had been suffering from myocardial infarction. Around 11 pm, he suffered a massive cardiac arrest and passed away," sources said.
“Tribals are very shy and lack awareness about the outside world. Though youngsters from the tribal community have changed, many are still reluctant to express their problems. When it goes out of hand, these things happen. It is difficult to construct roads in a reserve forest. Fortunately, officials have got permission to build the road,” Udumalaipet MLA ‘Udumalai’ Radhakrishnan said.
District collector T Christuraj said the road would be built within a few weeks. “We have already issued the approval for constructing the road after a district-level committee meeting held last week. The new road would be built from Thirumoorthy hill to Kurumalai after a Rs 13 crore tender is finalised by the Dhali town panchayat."
"The fund will be allocated by the tribal welfare department,” he said, adding that he would strengthen medical services by conducting weekly camps in all tribal settlements in the district.
“We will set up a temporary medical camp near the base of Thirumoorthi Hill soon with the help of the local PHC,” T Christuraj said.