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By Anirban Sinha Roy: Asim Devasharma, a migrant worker and resident of Bengal’s Dangipara village in Mustafanagar Grampanchayat, was unable to afford the fee demanded by ambulance drivers, leaving him with no choice but to transport the body himself.
The incident took place on Saturday when both of Asim Devasharma’s twins fell seriously ill. They were initially admitted to Kaliaganj State General Hospital but were later referred to Raiganj Medical College Hospital as their condition deteriorated.
According to sources, both his children were taken to the North Bengal Medical College Hospital for further treatment.
As the children’s health continued to deteriorate, Asim Devasharma’s wife returned home with one of the infants on Thursday. Tragically, the other child died on Saturday night while undergoing treatment at the hospital.
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The grieving father approached the North Bengal Medical College Hospital for an ambulance to carry his deceased son’s body to his home. However, he was shocked when the ambulance drivers demanded Rs 8,000 to carry out the task
Left with no other options, Asim Devasharma boarded a private bus from Bengal’s Siliguri to Raiganj and then took another bus to reach his hometown, Kaliaganj. Upon reaching the Vivekananda intersection in Kaliaganj, Asim Devasharma sought help and arranged for an ambulance.
My five-month-old son died last night after treatment at the North Bengal Medical College and Hospital in Siliguri for six days, during which I spent Rs 16,000,” said the grieving father.
“I was there to hire one ambulance. Then, I was informed I’m not allowed to take the dead body home. An ambulance driver told me that the facility was free for patients, but not for transporting corpses,” added Asim Devasharma.
Asim told the reporters that when he asked the driver about the charges of transporting his dead child’s body, they said Rs 8000.
“I did not have money to pay Rs 8,000 demanded by the ambulance driver, so I boarded a bus from Siliguri. I got down at Raiganj and changed my bus,” he added.
He claimed that he travelled by bus to Kaliaganj in Uttar Dinajpur district, around 200 km from Siliguri in Darjeeling district, without letting anyone know, fearing that he would be deboarded if the co-passengers of staff became aware of it.
“After getting down at the Vivekananda intersection in Kaliaganj, I contacted one person. He arranged for an ambulance,” the father said.
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The incident has sparked outrage and drawn attention to the dire state of healthcare services in West Bengal.
POLITICIAL REACTIONS ON THE CHILD’s DEATH
West Bengal BJP chief Sukanta Majumder, expressed his sorrow over the incident on social media, blaming the state government for the poor condition of healthcare facilities.
Taking to Twitter, he wrote, “This poor person has to carry the dead body of his child in a bag. He didn’t find any ambulance. This is the condition of the health facility in West Bengal. This case is from Uttar Dinajpur district. Sad but this is the reality across all districts in West Bengal.”
Leader of Opposition in West Bengal assembly Suvendu Adhikari of the BJP questioned the efficacy of the Trinamool Congress government’s ‘Swasthya Sathi’ health insurance scheme.
Tweeting the matter with videos of the man speaking to the media, Adhikari wrote: “Let’s not get into technicalities, but is this what Swasthya Sathi has achieved? This is unfortunately the true portrayal of the ‘Egiye Bangla’ (advanced Bengal) model.”
Reacting to this, TMC leaders accused the saffron party of indulging in politics over the unfortunate death of a child. TMC Rajya Sabha MP Santanu Sen accused the BJP of trying to “play dirty politics” with the unfortunate death of a child.
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