Lack of roads and electricity have turned out to be the bane of the tribal people of some hamlets of Ananthagiri mandal in Alluri Sitharama Raju district. S. Adaiah (42) of Rayapadu village in NR Puram panchayat died of snakebite on June 17.
Adaiah was fast asleep in his home on June 16th night, when a snake sneaked into his house and bit him during the early hours. His family members called the local Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHA) worker to arrange an ambulance. She advised them to take the victim on a motorcycle as the ambulance would not be able to reach their village due to the bad road. The family members arranged to take him on a motorcycle to Boddavara and from there in an autorickshaw to the Area Hospital at S. Kota on June 17th morning.
“The doctors at the hospital gave him an injection and advised that the victim be shifted to the Maharaja Hospital in Vizianagaram as his condition was serious. By the time the victim was taken there, it was around 12.30 p.m. Adaiah died within an hour after admission,” says Kotaparthi Tarun, Girijan Sangham leader of Simidivalasa village.
The villagers attributed the death to lack of roads and electricity in their villages. They sought an ambulance for shifting of the body from Maharaja Hospital in Vizianagaram to Rayapadu. CPI(M) district secretariat member K. Govinda Rao appealed to the ITDA Project Officer and the latter directed the Bhimavaram PHC (Ananthagiri mandal) medical officer to send the ambulance to transport the body.
The issue was also taken to the notice of the ST Commission Chairman and he ordered the Maharaja Hospital Superintendent to get a post-mortem done and hand over the body to the family members, without any delay.
Girijan Sangham and CPI(M) leaders Konaparthi Simhachalam, K. Govinda Rao and Buriga Appalaraju thanked the ITDA PO and the ST Commission Chairman for their prompt response. They also sought early completion of the road to their villages and supply of electricity to the ‘powerless’ hamlets.
Published - June 18, 2024 06:52 pm IST
