In a heart-wrenching incident that underscores the ongoing infrastructure crisis in Odisha’s remote tribal regions, a young girl carried her snake-bitten mother for over five kilometres through dense forest—only to lose her in the end due to delayed medical care.
The tragedy unfolded late Friday night in Dumeripada, a secluded village under Mundigada panchayat in Tumudibandh block, Kandhamal district. Balamadu Majhi was asleep in her home when a venomous snake bit her. Her family immediately called the 108 ambulance service. But the vehicle could only make it as far as Saramundi, around eight kilometres away, stopped by the absence of a motorable road.
With no alternative and time slipping away, her daughter, Rajani Majhi, hoisted her mother onto her back and began an arduous five-kilometre trek along a rough jungle trail. Once she reached Saramundi, she arranged a motorcycle ride for the remaining stretch to the ambulance.
Balamadu was rushed to the Tumudibandh health centre and then referred to Baliguda Sub-Divisional Hospital. But despite Rajani’s desperate effort, doctors declared Balamadu dead on arrival.
The family and local villagers blamed her death squarely on the lack of road connectivity and the resulting delay in treatment. They also recounted a previous tragedy in the family—Rajani’s father had died under similar circumstances years ago, after being unable to access medical help in time.
Following the post-mortem, the grieving family carried Balamadu’s body home on a cot. The incident has sparked anger and sorrow in the tribal community, reigniting long-standing demands for basic infrastructure and access to emergency services in remote areas.
Rajani, now left with three younger brothers, is the face of a crisis far bigger than her personal loss—one that continues to claim lives in silence.