Elderly woman taken to hospital on handcart after ambulance delay

Jashpur | Correspondent: On Sunday night, around 8 PM, 70-year-old Rajni Hota of Dabari Toli in Jashpurnagar, the headquarters of Jashpur district in Chhattisgarh, suddenly fell ill. She experienced a severe headache and began vomiting. Seeing the critical condition of the elderly woman, who lives alone, local youths immediately called the 108 ambulance service.

Young men like Ved Prakash Tiwari, Shankar Tamrakar, Vishal Nayak, Mangal Pandey, and Rajesh Gupta arrived at the scene. After repeatedly calling and failing to get an ambulance, they gave up waiting and used a nearby handcart. They placed the woman on the cart and quickly took her to the district hospital, where she received immediate treatment.

A video of this entire incident is rapidly going viral on social media, raising serious questions about the efficiency of the 108 ambulance service and the preparedness of the health department. Local residents are calling it a clear example of negligence in the healthcare system.

District Chief Medical and Health Officer Dr. G.S. Jatra took notice of the matter and immediately visited the site to gather information. He stated that the woman had a complaint related to high blood pressure, and she is now undergoing treatment and her health is steadily improving. Regarding the allegations of the ambulance not arriving, Dr. Jatra said that sometimes technical difficulties arise due to network problems or busy lines. He added that upon his own investigation, he found that the call was eventually answered.