Nabarangpur: In a heart-wrenching incident, a financially-challenged couple from Odisha’s Nabarangpur district was forced to mortgage their ration card to transport the dead body of their 10-day-old newborn son.
Nakula Bhatra and his wife Ambika, from Daleiguda village under Papadahandi block, lost their prematurely born son while he was undergoing treatment at Saheed Laxman Nayak Medical College and Hospital in Koraput.
‘Denied’ the state government’s Mahaprayan hearse service, the grieving couple needed Rs 5,000 to avail of a private ambulance so that they could take the body to their native place.
According to reports, the baby was born prematurely on September 29 at Papadahandi Community Health Centre (CHC). Because of low weight at birth, the infant was shifted to Nabarangpur District Headquarters Hospital (DHH).
On October 5, the newborn was referred to the Koraput hospital for advanced critical care.
However, tragedy struck late on the night of October 8, when all efforts to save the newborn failed.
The grieving parents alleged that the hospital staff told them to bury their son in Koraput itself, and return home by bus or transport the body on a motorcycle.
As they didn’t have money to arrange transportation, Nakula contacted his family members for help. They eventually mortgaged the family ration card, which supports seven household members, to secure a private loan, and took their child to Daleiguda, where the final rites were performed.