Due to lack of proper road and medical facilities, a 34-year-old woman from a village on Kodaikanal hills, suffering from low blood pressure had to be carried in a ‘doli’ by her relatives for treatment. However, she was declared brought dead at the hospital by the doctors.
Manimegalai of Vellagavi village in Kodaikanal was suffering from low blood pressure. Since the village in the forest area does not have proper road connectivity and medical facilities, her relatives decided to carry her in a ‘doli’. They decided to take her to the Government Hospital in Periyakulam in Theni district.
The relatives carried her through the forest area and after travelling for about 12 km they reached Kumbakarai in Theni district and from Kumbakarai they took an ambulance to Periyakulam. However, when they reached the Periyakulam Government Hospital, the doctors declared that the woman was brought dead.
Since the body could not be taken back to the village the body was cremated at the municipal crematorium.
The villagers said that the village was established during the British rule and even after more than a hundred years, there was no proper road facility.
During emergency and for essential goods, the people of the village had to go to Perumalmalai and Kodaikanal through the hills. Since it was steep for them to climb, they usually descended 12 km to reach Kumbakarai and from there they would hire vehicles to go to Periyakulam, they said. The villagers demanded that roads and medical facilities should be established in their village so that such deaths can be prevented.
Published - March 13, 2025 10:38 pm IST
