Daringbadi: A day after a man succumbed to unbearable cold in Daringbadi region, a minor girl Wednesday sustained critical burn injuries after she fell into a bonfire while sitting near the bonfire to get rid of the bone-chilling cold. The incident was reported from Sirsapanga, an interior village, under Gumikia panchayat of this block in Kandhamal district.
Worse, the girl’s parents have failed to admit her to a hospital for treatment. Owing to financial crisis, the below poverty line (BPL) family is forced to depend on traditional healers for her treatment.
“We are not able to afford the treatment. We depend on herbal leaves,” the baby’s mother Nimojini Pradhan said as tears rolled down on her cheeks.
The incident occurred while the girl was sitting near a bonfire. Accidentally, she fell into the flare and sustained critical injuries on her face. Locals sympathised with the family and demanded that the administration take notice of their plight and provide the baby with proper treatment.
The incident comes at a time when the district is reeling under intense cold as mercury level has dropped below 3 degree Celsius. The bone-chilling cold has compounded normal lives of people in the region. People fail to come out of their houses till 11 am and are forced to remain indoors after sunset.
Meanwhile, birds and small creatures are found dead due to exposure to extreme cold. Even as snowfall has been reported for over a week, locals fear the extreme cold would further add to the woes of residents.
It may be noted here that a three-year-old had sustained burn injuries on her face in a similar manner after she fell into a bonfire while sitting with her parents near the flare. After the intervention of the administration, the girl after preliminary treatment in Phulbani district headquarters hospital has been shifted to Berhampur-based MKCG Medical College and Hospital. PNN
