Bargarh: Lack of proper roads has been a constant source of worry for residents of Kantatal village under Bugbuga panchayat in Atabira block of this district. The non-availability of a proper surface affects the movement of all types of vehicles. The people suffer a lot, more so during the rainy season, when it virtually becomes impossible to move around.
The Patrapali-Bhutatikra road connecting the village to other parts of the district is unusable to say the least. In the rainy season it becomes stretch of muddy surface making it impossible to walk. The worst sufferers are those who fill sick. It is impossible to take them to the nearest medical facility as ambulances cannot enter the village due to the deplorable road conditions.
65-year-old Charan Naik had been sick for some time now and it was imperative that he be shifted to a hospital Tuesday. However, with no vehicle to take him to the hospital, villagers decided to shift him on a makeshift cot. They carried Charan on the cot to Patrapali from where he was taken to the hospital in a rickshaw.
However, by that time valuable time had been lost and doctors at the hospital pronounced him dead on arrival. Locals opined that due to the deplorable road conditions, ambulance facilities were not available. They pointed out that had Charan reached the hospital earlier, he could have been saved. The lack of proper roads led to his untimely demise.
Charan’s case however, is not an isolated one in Odisha. On many occasions one gets to read about patients being taken to hospitals in cots and other makeshift vehicles. Residents of Kantatal village informed that they had drawn the attention of the district administration regarding their apathy on a number of occasions. However, till date there has been no solution to their problems.