Bargarh: Even as Odisha and Chhattisgarh state governments are engaged in a bitter row over sharing of Mahanadi River water, an Odia girl has proved that blood is thicker than water, literally.
Sunanda Dash has done the state proud by donating blood and saving the life of a girl in the neighbouring state, a report said Wednesday.
The water-sharing row between the two states has become a national issue and has reached a pass where a tribunal has had to be set up. However, it hasn’t cast a shadow on the bonhomie or strained the relations between the people of the two states.
Nothing illustrates it more than when Sunanda came forward and donated blood to save the life of a Chhattisgarh girl undergoing treatment in the District Headquarters Hospital.
Sunanda is a member of ‘Badanya Bandhu’, a local voluntary outfit in Bargarh. Residents have hailed the noble gesture shown by Sunanda in saving the life of the critically ill girl of Chhattisgarh, Anita Seth.
Sources said Anita, a native of Sutupali village under Pusor police limits in Raigarh district of Chhattisgarh, was admitted to the Bargarh Headquarters Hospital after her health condition deteriorated.
There the doctors had decided to conduct an operation and asked her family members to arrange for O-positive blood. Anita’s family members went into distress as they had little knowledge of the area and did not know local people.
When they were pondering over what to do, members of the ‘Badanya Bandhu’ learnt about their problem. They discussed the issue among themselves and Sunanda volunteered to donate her blood for the girl.
She, with the help of other members, visited the blood bank in the hospital and donated blood for the girl. The coordinator of the voluntary outfit Subrat Bartia was present when Sunanda donated blood for Anita.
