Patana: A mother’s desperate effort to save her 13-year-old son ended in tragedy after a washed-out bridge prevented an ambulance from reaching their village in Kendujhar district.
Meena Mohanta and her son, Naresh, went to a pond near their home in Jhaliapada village under Patana police limits Tuesday morning. Naresh went ahead towards the pond and accidentally drowned.
After noticing her son’s slippers on the pond embankment, Meena searched the water and rescued him. Family members immediately called an ambulance.
However, the 108 ambulance could not reach the village because a bridge over the Suakati nullah had been washed away by incessant rain. Determined to save her son, Meena carried Naresh on her shoulder toward the bridge. Unable to carry him farther, Meena and her sister-in-law Minati arranged a cot and, with the help of others, carried him for about 1 kilometer to the point where the ambulance was waiting.
The ambulance had approached the village from another route through Balibandha and Jhaliapada. Naresh was taken to the Patana Community Health Centre, where doctors pronounced him dead.
A video showing Meena carrying her son on her shoulder and later on the cot has drawn attention in the local area. Residents expressed anger over the ambulance’s inability to reach the village after the bridge was washed away. They demanded construction of a new bridge over the nullah and paving or concreting of both roads connecting the village.
The incident has highlighted the diffi culties faced by residents of remote villages when basic infrastructure fails during the monsoon.
Police registered an unnatural death case-45/26 at Patana police station and launched an investigation. Sub-inspector Laxman Majhi is investigating. Meena’s husband, Rohit had died earlier. Naresh was one of her twins.