Thuamul Rampur: A migrant worker’s body had to be carried on a cot for more than 2 km through a treacherous hill road in Kalahandi’s Thuamul Rampur block after an ambulance carrying his remains got stranded Thursday.
Balasing Majhi, 36, of Shungergarh village under Serkapai gram panchayat, died in Andhra Pradesh after a boat carrying him sank while he was on his way to feed fish at a farm in Gudivada September 8.
After a postmortem at Gudivada Government Medical College and Hospital, his body was being transported to his native village by ambulance early Thursday. However, the vehicle got stuck about 2 km from the village after one of its front tyres burst on the Serkapai-Jam Ghat road.
The road, which is reportedly in poor condition with potholes, mud and steep stretches for a long time, prevented the ambulance from proceeding further. With no other option, family members and villagers carried the body on a cot through the rain for more than 2 km before reaching Shungergarh.
The incident has once again brought attention to the connectivity problems in Thuamul Rampur block, where several villages across its 24 gram panchayats continue to lack all-weather roads.
Residents say patients, pregnant women and bodies are often carried on cots in areas where ambulances and other vehicles cannot reach because of poor road connectivity.
The problem is not limited to Shungergarh. Several remote pockets, including Serkapai, Nakarundi, Talambpadar and Karlapat, continue to face basic infrastructure challenges despite their natural and mineral resources.
