Dhanushka, aged 18 months, suffered a snakebite and her parents had to carry her in their arms alive to a hospital, and dead back home for the want of a motorable road.
The baby's corpse being carried on foot to Athimarathurkollai tribal village (Source- Screen grab)
Within days of a tribal couple from Tamil Nadu’s Vellore district being forced to carry the body of their dead 18-month-old for kilometres, the district administration’s response appears to be blood-boiling, because it ranges from blame-shifting to promises from authorities.
The couple lost their 18-month-old girl to a snakebite as the infant had to be carried on foot for 17 km to a hospital: There were no proper road facilities in the area.
The incident took place in the Athimarathurkollai village, which is in the Jawadu Hills in the Anaicut taluk of the Vellore district.
Around 10 pm on 26 May, husband S Viji and wife Priya — alarmed by the whimper of baby girl V Dhanushka — found snakebite marks on her body. They also found a snake slithering away into the bushes.
The panicked parents took the baby in their arms and started running from the hill village to the Government Taluk Hospital in Anaicut, 17 km away.
Midway, after they crossed the terrain section, Viji, and Priya hailed an autorickshaw.
When they reached the hospital at 2 am on 27 May, the duty doctor in the hospital, after treating the kid, referred her to the nearby Adukkamparai government hospital.
There, the doctors declared the child dead.
Yet, the ordeal did not end there.
The broken parents were asked to wait till noon for a post-mortem examination.
The child’s body was subsequently handed over to them, and they were assigned an ambulance to drop them off at their village.
Unable to drive, the parents were dropped off at the base of Alleri Hills
The ambulance driver could not drive beyond the Varadalampattu village, at the foot of Alleri Hills, as the road was not motorable.
Consequentially, the parents were dropped off there and carried the body in their arms. Left in the middle of the way, the parents and relatives broke down in tears.
A few youths from nearby villages came to the rescue and took the baby’s corpse on their bike, but only for about 2 km.
The parents had to carry the body for around 8 km on foot to Athyimarathurkollai village. Later on that day, the kid’s body was buried.
The father Viji, told South First that if there was a proper road, his baby could have been saved.
“On that fateful night, we didn’t know what to do. If there was a hospital nearby, we would have rushed my daughter there,” he said.
District Collector P Kumaravel Pandian consoles Dhanushka’s parents
Most of the villagers from the tribal community are daily wagers.
Shanmu, a villager, painted a picture of abject neglect.
“The children going to school should walk down the terrain as there were are no road facilities and the elders who are sick also suffer the same,” he said.
He further added that during every election the politicians assure them of proper road facilities, but nothing materialises.
After the incident came to light, District Collector P Kumaravel Pandian made a field inspection on Monday, 29 May.
Since his car could not proceed after a certain point, the collector took a two-wheeler to the village.
He visited Viji and Priya and consoled them.
Later the collector, along with forest and panchayat officials checked the feasibility of laying a road. They also took up preliminary works for connecting the village with a motorable road.
Collector P Kumaravel Pandian inspects the terrain for laying roads
Collector Pandian told South First that the road works were being delayed since the region was inside a reserve forest.
He said that a survey has begun and the road would be laid “within six months”. He also said that efforts were being made to establish a sub-health center at the tribal village.
An officer from the District Rural Development Agency (DRDA) told South First that funds were allotted to lay roads in the hill areas, which fall under the jurisdiction of the state Forest Department.
“But the District Forest Officer has the power to sanction one hectare of forest land to the DRDA. If more than one hectare is needed, higher officials should sanction it and the state has to issue a government order allotting the forest land for laying the roads,” he said.
It is not known if those sanctions were ever sought.
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