Bhubaneshwar: Dana Majhi, hailing from one of the poorest districts in Odisha, walked 10 km with his wife Amang Dei’s body on his shoulder and his weeping 12-year-old daughter by his side.
It is learnt that Amang Dei (42) died of tuberculosis at the hospital in Kalahandi on Tuesday night and Dana Majhi had no vehicle to take his wife’s body home from the hospital, 60 km away from his village.
Majhi told the reporters that even though he requested the hospital authorities to help as he could not afford a vehicle back to his village, the hospital did not help them in any way. Wrapping the stiff body in a cloth, he set out on foot for his village, along with his daughter. However, the TV crew reportedly called up a senior officer and arranged an ambulance for the remaining journey to Majhi’s village.
In Odisha where medical help is not easy to come by, the government had launched the ‘Mahaparayana’ scheme in February, offering to transport bodies from government hospitals free of charge. Under the scheme, 37 government hospitals were given vehicles to carry the dead. But none of those were available when Majhi desperately needed the service.
Kalikesh Singh Deo, a Member of Parliament of the state’s ruling Biju Janata Dal, tweeted, “I have already asked the local minister to verify this and take appropriate action.” Kalahandi District Collector Brunda D said, “we arranged for an ambulance as soon as we got to know of the incident. Help will be provided to for the funeral of Amang Dei under another government scheme,” he added.
