Carrying pregnant women and ailing patients to a hospital in a ‘doli’, in the remote areas of the Agency belt, has been a common sight for long and successive governments who have failed to address the issue.
Lack of road connectivity to the interior areas in the Agency, makes tribals trek for long to reach an ambulance. As a result, they take pregnant women and the aged in a ‘doli’ (makeshift stretcher), to the road point for an ambulance. Sometimes, women deliver on the way, while some patients die as they do not get medical aid in time.
With several representations made by various organisations remained a far cry, the ‘doli’ woes continue in the Agency belt of Visakhapatnam district.
Laying focus on the issue at a review meeting held with the tribal welfare officials on 30 July, Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu directed them to initiate measures to end the woes of tribals in taking pregnant women to hospital. He also wanted restoration of feeder ambulances in Agency.
Chandrababu Naidu issued orders for setting up of hostels for pregnant women in the tribal areas. Alleging fall in the living standards of tribals during the previous YSRCP regime, he said organisations like Girijan Co-operative Corporation (GCC) and Integrated Tribal Development Agency (ITDA) should work more effectively.
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This article is written by Senior Journalist Lakkoju Nagesh Babu
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