Bolangir: Illegal encroachments in this town forced relatives of a sick elderly woman to carry her on a cot for more than half-a-kilometre as the ambulance could not reach her doorstep. This has raised serious questions among the residents of the town here. They have said that illegal occupation of land has now become a headache.
Sunaphula Mishra (68), a resident at Rameswarnagar which is in Ward No.7 here suddenly fell ill Sunday afternoon and her condition deteriorated rapidly. Her family members immediately dialed for an ambulance. However, when it arrived it found the road leading to Sunaphula’s house very narrow and not wide enough for travel. The narrowing of the road had happened because of encroachment of land.
Hence local residents and family members carried Sunaphula in a cot to the ambulance which was waiting some distance away.
Locals said they had taken up the problem of encroachment with the District Collector. They had requested for the construction of a wider road from Rameswarnagar to the National Highway via the Ghikundi embankment. However, till date nothing has happened.
The residents of Rameswarnagar pointed out that in case a fire breaks out in the locality it will lead to serious problems. “The roads are so narrow that firefighting engines will not be able to enter the locality. Luckily so far nothing of the sort has happened,” they pointed out.
Now with the Sunaphula incident transpiring, local residents have once more decided to meet the Collector and push for their demand of a wider road.
PNN
