Ailing tribal woman carried on cot for five kilometres in Bokaro

BOKARO: An ailing 55-year-old Santhal tribal woman, who was carried for five kilometres by her neighbours and family members on a cot along a muddy trail in the hope of getting a vehicle to get treatment in a hospital, had to return heartbroken and resort to traditional medicine as nobody was willing to ferry her.
It was also not known whether Bandhani Devi of remote Asnapai village under Siyari panchayat of Gomia block of the district is suffering from Covid-19 as no test was conducted. Bandhani’s husband Dengara Manjhi had died a few years ago. Her village located between forests on Jinga hill has 15 houses all belonging to the Santhals.
According to her family members and villagers, they carried Bandhani till Daniya, where they hoped to get a vehicle to take her to the nearest hospital, but the autorickshaw drivers there refused to ferry her fearing she was infected by Covid virus. Bandhani was suffering from fever, weakness and body ache and her family members decided to take her to a hospital after her health deteriorated.
Gomia block development officer Kapil Kumar said though Asnapai village is in a remote area, they have stationed two ambulances at Gomia to help the needy. He said, "We are not informed about the condition of the woman. Had we known about it, we would have arranged treatment for her. I am looking into the matter to ensure that she gets the right medication."
Sadly, Asnapai village has no roads and the residents used the forest trails for communication. Whenever any health emergency arises there, particularly for pregnant women or those who sustained serious injuries, it is a practice for the villagers to carry patients on cots till Daniya from where they get vehicles to go to the government hospital in Ramgarh district.
Bandhani's son Babuchand Manjhi said, "We carried my mother on a cot after her condition deteriorated. She was suffering from fever for the past six days. She did not take any food and became very weak."
Manjhi added, "My mother became ill after suffering from cold and cough. After reaching Daniya, we requested many autorickshaw and taxi drivers to help my mother reach the hospital, but they refused. We had to carry her back home and on the suggestions of the villagers, we are treating her with traditional medicine."
Meanwhile, Kumar said, "The government has already sanctioned funds for the construction of a road to the village, but due to some reasons, work has not started yet.” The villagers rued that they have no electricity, too. Their children have to walk three kilometres to the nearest school at Birhordera village.