Man carries son’s body on bike for 90 km

Farm worker was unable to afford ₹20,000 demanded by ambulance drivers

It was a heart-breaking sight to see a grief-stricken father carrying the dead body of his son on his shoulders, while riding pillion on a two-wheeler for 90 km to reach his native village, as an ambulance turned out to be unaffordable.

This is the latest in the series of incidents at Sri Venkateswara Ramnarain Ruia (SVRR) Government General Hospital, which has reportedly earned the dubious distinction of being ‘patient-unfriendly’.

A nine-year-old tribal boy Jaswa was admitted for treatment of a liver disorder and succumbed past midnight of Monday. When his father, Narasimhulu, working as a gardener in a mango orchard near Rajampeta, tried to shift the body to his native Chitvel village, 90 km from Tirupati, the ambulance driver reportedly demanded a whopping ₹20,000.

As all efforts to convince the cartel of drivers failed, Narasimhulu, whose earns about ₹4,000 a month, appealed to his orchard owner to depute an ambulance from outside. The hostile drivers of the in-house cartel not only chased away the outsider, but also reportedly manhandled Narasimhulu.

Overcome by emotion, the disturbed father carried the body of his son on his shoulder, hopped on to a motorcycle to travel all the way to his native village.

The incident created furore on Tuesday, when social activists and political leaders congregated at the hospital to protest against the nonchalant attitude of the hospital management.