Traffic Jam Claims Life Of Ailing Minor Boy In Bhubaneswar

Bhubaneswar: A five-year-old critically ill boy died before he could reach the hospital after the ambulance carrying him got caught in a traffic jam in the Odisha capital on Tuesday.

Narrating the ordeal to the media, the deceased’s father Nirod Nayak said: “I had taken my son to the Capital Hospital last night after he had severe vomiting. The on-duty doctors gave him an injection and prescribed some medicines. My son complained of severe stomach pain late in the night. I again took him to the Capital Hospital this morning and the doctor administered another injection to my son and advised me to get him admitted to SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack.”

As his condition became critical, he decided to take him to a private hospital at Patia and called an ambulance. However, it took them about one hour and 20 minutes to reach Kalinga Hospital Chhak due to heavy traffic. “Though I got down from the ambulance van at each intersection and requested people to give way, neither they nor the traffic police paid any heed. By the time I reached the hospital, my son had died,” said the inconsolable father.

The media informed the matter to the Traffic DCP Sagarika Nath, but there has been no response from her till filing of this report.

Expressing grave concern over the shocking incident, some locals said that the Commissionerate Police had completely failed to address the traffic problem in the Odisha capital. “You can very well imagine the traffic condition when an ambulance, carrying a critically ill, has to wait for hours in a jam,” said a senior citizen Bhabani Patnaik.