Kalahandi again: Man walks 10 km carrying the body of his wife on shoulder
25 August, New Delhi
In a shocking incident, a poor man had to walk for nearly ten kms carrying the body of his wife on his shoulder from a hospital in Bhawanipatna in Kalahandi district to his village in the absence of any ambulance service.The news spread like wildfire across the state.Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik today launched a scheme called “Mahaprayan” to provide a helping hand to the relatives to carry the bodies from the government hospital.
The Kalahandi district collector also ordered a probe.The Sub Collector was asked to submit a report on the tragic incident within 24 hours.According to reports, Dhanu Majhi of Melaghara village under Thuamul Rampur block in Kalahandi district had admitted his wife, Agang Majhi, in the Bhawanipatna district headquarter hospital a few days ago.
The lady, who was suffering from various ailments, including tuberculosis, however, died in the hospital on Tuesday night during the treatment.Dhanu tried to get the ambulance to carry the body to his village but no officials of the hospital came forward to help him.In desperation, the man waited for the whole night and finally decided to carry the body of his wife on his shoulder next day morning .
He wrapped the body of his wife in a cloth and started the journey to his village while his 10-year-old daughter accompanied him.Media reports prompted the District Collector and the Chief District Medical Officer of Kalahandi to act and send an ambulance.But by the time the Ambulance reached the man, he had already travelled almost 10 kms and reached the Sagada village from where the body was finally taken in the Ambulance to Melaghar village for the rites.
The district authority also announced to provide financial assistance under the Harischandra Yojana for performing the funeral rites and also assistance from the District Red Cross Fund.
While the man claimed that he had requested the hospital authority to arrange n Ambulance to carry the body of his wife to the village but none of the staff in the hospital paid any heed to his request.Finding no other option, Dhanu, who had no money to hire a vehicle , took the decision to carry the body of his wife on his shoulder to his village.However, the CDMO said the man took the body of his wife without intimating any of the hospital staff.