10-day baby dies as lack of road comes in the way of providing timely medical aid

Lack of road in Jajulabandha hampers emergency medical care for tribal community, leading to tragic infant death.

The lack of a road to Jajulabandha hamlet in the ASR district is causing problems for the tribal people in rushing the sick for treatment in case of emergencies as an ambulance cannot reach their village. On Tuesday (December 31, 2024) night, an infant died before she could be taken to hospital.

Marri Sundara Rao’s wife Kumari had delivered a baby girl 10 days ago. The baby developed breathing problems and became sick around 8 p.m. on Tuesday (December 31, 2024) night. Jajulabandha, which has a population of 160 people, belongs to ‘Kondh’, a Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group (PVTG), according to village elders Marri Kameswara Rao and Kondathamali Venkata Rao.

It was pitch dark outside and the baby and mother has to be carried in a ‘doli’ for around 7 km to reach the nearest road point and from there to the Primary Health Centre(PHC) at Downuru. The family members summoned for some of their relatives nearby as at least four able-bodied persons were required to carry the doli down the hill.

Unfortunately, even before the relatives could arrive, the baby breathed her last.

“The government had sanctioned ₹1 crore, way back in 2023, for construction of the road, and ₹26 lakh was spent on laying 3 km of road and construction of three culverts. But, the work was left incomplete, and remains unfinished to this day, according to the tribal people. We had complained to the authorities concerned at the Public Grievance Redressal System (PGRS) on a couple of occasions in the past. But, no action has been taken till date,” CPI-M district secretariat member K. Govinda Rao said.

On a complaint filed by Marri Kameswara Rao of Jajulabandha at the PGRS in ASR district on December 9, 2024, it was noted by the official concerned that a 6-km road was sanctioned from Arla village to Jajulabandha at an estimated cost of ₹1 crore by the Tribal Welfare Engineering Department under the Mahatma Gandhi Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MNREGS).

The road was laid for 3 km, after which blasting was needed, and permission was sought from the police department. The official noted that the Tribal Welfare Department would complete the remaining work, once the permission for blasting was obtained.