Assam: The shocking news of a man having to carry his brother’s body on cycle for lack of an ambulance in Majuli island in Brahmaputra has exposed the basic lack of medical facilities in Assam.
What makes the callousness even more glaring on the part of the Assam government is that Majuli happens to be chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal’s constituency.
A video footage recently surfaced showing a man using a cycle to carry his brother’s body for crossing a bamboo bridge, the only link that connects his village Luit Khabalu and the mainland. The boy was taking his brother’s body back home from the hospital to perform his last rites, officials said.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CLy30dWmSGo
The chief minister has directed the Director of Health Services to rush to the village and conduct an inquiry into the incident.
BJP’s DEVELOPMENT CLAIM EXPOSED
The news debunks the BJP’s development claim, exposing its failure to provide basic healthcare facilities even though the Sonowal government plans to make Majuli the first Wi-Fi district of the state.
When asked whether an ambulance never comes to his place, the relative of the deceased said, “No, not at all. There are no proper roads here. The bridge is in a bad condition.”
While the BJP government came to power on the promise of ‘paribartan’ or change, little has changed or bettered in terms of improvement in healthcare and medical facilities, a much more fundamental and pressing need than providing WiFi services.
A local from Majuli was quoted as saying, “A man is forced to carry his brother’s body on a cycle. The BJP government has been in power for over a year now. People are talking about paribartan (change), but no paribartan has actually happened. This talk of paribartan is all sham. We don’t want such cities, our Majuli is going to be a Wi-Fi district now, we want changes in the health sector and we request the government to bring us to the new age from the old times. No change has happened here in Majuli. If you come here, you will see the same old roads and the same education system. And what does one say about the health sector. You will see for yourself in the video how a body is being carried in a bicycle for lack of proper facilities.”
Last year, a similar case of medical apathy had been reported from Odisha’s Kalahandi, where a tribal farmer Dana Majhi had to carry his wife’s body on his shoulders as there was no hearse facility to carry the corpse to Majhi’s native village.
PTI