Nabarangpur: A couple from Odisha’s Nabarangpur district allegedly had to mortgage their family ration card to borrow Rs 5,000 to transport their 10-day-old son’s body home after they were “denied” the government’s Mahaprayan hearse service at a hospital in Koraput.
Ambika and her husband, Nakula Bhatra, residents of Daleiguda village under Papadahandi block, lost their prematurely born son while he was undergoing treatment at Saheed Laxman Nayak Medical College and Hospital in Koraput late Thursday night, sources said.
The grieving parents alleged that hospital staff did not arrange the Mahaprayan service. They claimed they were instead told, “to bury the body in Koraput and return home by bus or transport the remains on a motorcycle”.
With no money to arrange transportation, Nakula reportedly contacted his family in the village for help. The family eventually mortgaged its ration card, which supports seven household members, to secure a private loan, sources added.
The sources further informed that couple paid Rs 5,000 for a private ambulance to take their son’s body to Daleiguda, where they performed the final rites. The baby was born prematurely at seven months September 29 at the Papadahandi Community Health Centre. Due to his low birth weight, he was initially shifted to the Nabarangpur District Headquarters Hospital before being referred to the Koraput Medical College October 5 for specialised care.
