The tragic death of an autorickshaw driver from Kuttampuzha panchayat after his vehicle collided with a sambar deer that shot across his path while taking a patient to a hospital in Kothamangalam town has again drawn attention to the longstanding demand of the largely tribal population of the panchayat for a healthcare facility that functions round the clock.
Vigil P.N., 41, of Elamblassery in Mamalakandam ward of Kuttampuzha panchayat, was killed after sustaining fatal injuries from getting trapped under the autorickshaw at Kadapara along Punnekkad-Thattekkad road within Keerampara panchayat limits in Kothamangalam on Monday around 10 p.m.
At present, the panchayat has only one family heath centre and a couple of private hospitals within its limits. But none of these healthcare facilities operate beyond 6 p.m., which means that people in the panchayat have to travel 15 to 20 kilometres to Kothamangalam in the event of a medical emergency during nights. Deaths have been reported in the past owing to this gross shortcoming.
“The situation is worse for tribal hamlets, which are farther. We have 17 such hamlets within the panchayat limits and some like Variyam, Thera, and Uriyampetty are a good 35 to 40 kilometres away. Tribals from those hamlets require an arduous journey of around three hours to even reach Kuttampuzha and will have to travel further to Kothamangalam to get treatment. We have taken up the matter with the authorities many times in the past, and a proposal for setting up a specialty hospital for tribals was submitted to the Health Minister almost a year ago,” said Kanthi Vellakkayyan, president of Kuttampuzha panchayat.
Siby K.A., chairman of the development standing committee of the panchayat, said a tragedy could have been averted and a life saved had there been basic healthcare facilities in Kuttampuzha to tend to people at night. “We have been on the protest path for long, raising this demand,” he said.
