By Express News Service

PALAKKAD: Attappadi, infamous for the tribals’ sufferings including infant deaths and underweight babies, witnessed another heartrending incident on Wednesday. Local people took a pregnant Adivasi woman to the Kottathara tribal speciality hospital for delivery by tying her to a pole using a saree and carrying it on their shoulders.

The reason: There were no roads to the Edavanni ooru and the primary health centre at Pudur had informed the family members that no ambulance was available. Mani, wife of Thanali of Kumba ooru, however, was happy at the end of the ordeal as she gave birth to a healthy girl child weighing 2.2 kilograms, 10 minutes after reaching the hospital.

“Theroad to the ooru is accessible by only 4x4 jeeps. It got flooded after heavy rain. Therefore the woman had to be carried to Arulikonam from where a vehicle could be accessed. One slip on the slippery path would have caused a tragedy. The youth who carried her had to cross Varagaar, a tributary of Bhavani River, which they did with utmost care,” said Kerala Adivasi Aikya Vedi president K A Ramu.

Locals said after Mani developed pain, family members informed the Pudur primary health centre, but there was no response from them even after waiting for three hours. And when everybody started getting tense, the locals decided to carry the woman to Arulikonam from where a jeep of Kudumbashree transported her to the Kottathara hospital. “At the peak of the infant deaths at Attappadi in 2012-13, the then Minister for Rural Development Jairam Ramesh visited the place and announced a `100 crore package for it.

We had represented that the people of Galasi, Thudukki, Kadakkumanna, Edavani, Thazhe Bhoothiyar and Mele Bhoothiyaar had been facing hardships due to lack of roads, especially when there is a birth or death in the family. The minister had then announced 13 roads under the Pradhan Manthri Grameen Sadak Yojana. A sum of `9.45 crore was set aside for the Edavani road, but they remain a distant dream even after five years”, said K A Ramu. As many as 38 tribal families are living in Attappadi.

KSWC seeks report from Dist Collector

T’Puram: The State Women’s Commission has sought a report from District Collector on the

incident. Commission chairperson M C Josephine said she had sought the report to know the facts.