Patient carried on makeshift stretcher for 10 km in Karnataka
According to the locals, more than ten villages under the Male Mahadeshwara Hills Gram Panchayat do not have proper road facilities and transport systems.
A 62-year-old man suffering from a respiratory issue and in need of urgent medical attention was carried to the hospital on a makeshift stretcher for 10 km by the villagers as there was no ambulance service available.
Locals from Doddane village of Chamarajanagar district carried Mahadev on a makeshift cart made out of cloth, for 10 km to the hospital after his condition worsened on Thursday afternoon.
According to the villagers, Mahadev was taken to a nearby primary health centre in Sulvadi and later shifted to the Chamarajanagar district hospital.
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In the video, which is being widely circulated on social media, the ailing man can be seen sitting in the cloth cart while two people carry him on their shoulders on a stretch of road through the forest.
The villagers alleged that they have complained of lack of road infrastructure to the authorities several times, but ‘nothing was done so far.’
“Many requests were made to the district collector, district in-charge minister, MLAs and authorities to provide adequate transport arrangements, but to no avail,” a villager said.
According to the locals, more than ten villages under the Male Mahadeshwara Hills Gram Panchayat do not have proper road facilities and transport systems.
“There have been incidents of pregnant women giving birth on the way to the hospital and some incidents of deaths by not being able to reach the hospital on time. Despite several incidents, the villagers expressed their outrage that the government has not taken any action,” said another local.
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Speaking over the issue, Hanur constituency MLA R Narendra said that there is no permission from the forest department to construct roads in the village since it is a protected area.
“We cannot construct roads because we won’t get permission from the forest department. It is a protected area. But we have provided four jeeps to the villagers so that they can use them in case of emergency,” Narendra said.
The MLA said that efforts are on to move the people in four to five villages which are in the middle of the forest to nearby areas in the coming days. “We will provide them with houses and other monetary help for their rehabilitation,” Narendra added.
