Dead continue to be carried on bikes as only 7 hearses allotted for Kalahandi

BHAWANIPATNA:  Five years after the State government launched the Mahaprayan scheme to provide free hearse services from government hospitals, people in tribal-dominated Kalahandi district continue to face difficulties in carrying dead bodies due to inadequate dedicated vehicles at the health centres. While some seek private vehicles, others resort to desperate measures like carrying the bodies on bikes or cots. 

On Thursday, one Karan Bewa of Beheraguda village under Dharamgarh block, who died in Parla CHC was carried by her son and husband on a bike to their home, 10 km away. A video of the incident went viral on social media though such sights are common in many remote areas of the State. 

In 2016 Odisha government launched the Mahaprayan Yojana following a public outcry over sights of a tribal man Dana Majhi of Kalahandi carrying his dead wife on his shoulders in the absence of hearse service. The scheme was to ensure transport of dead bodies from hospitals free of cost and made available at all the district headquarters hospitals and three medical colleges and hospitals in the State.

But the programme seems to have failed to deliver due to lack of dedicated vehicles for the purpose. 
In Kalahandi, there are total seven hearses in the district including one each in Kesinga, Thuamul Rampur, Junagarh, Jayapatana, Dharmagarh and Koksara blocks besides one at the district headquarters hopsital in Bhawanipatna. Official sources said, the DHH, apart from the Mahaprayan vehicle, has two dedicated vehicles for hearse services.

Since only select blocks have these vehicles, people in other areas in the district are unable to avail the facility.  Sources said, there’s demand for Mahaprayan vehicles in almost all community health centres but in absence of it, needy people make their own arrangements. Hiring private vehicles that charge `20-`30 per km is out of bounds for most.

After appeals poured in on social media, on Friday, Rajya Sabha member Sujeet Kumar assured allocation of a Mahaprayan vehicle for Lanjigarh. Contacted, chief district medical officer Pratap Behera said there are seven Mahaprayan vehicles in Kalahandi as of now. If a patient dies, the health officer concerned arranges the Mahaprayan vehicle in his area, he said.