UDAYAPUR, Nov 23: Twenty-five years old Sharada Budhathoki could not believe that her two month-old son, her first child, was no more.
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Even more heart-breaking for her was the thought that her child could have survived had cadres of the protesting United Democratic Madesi Front (UDMF) not obstructed the roads.
The infant, Lal Bahadur Budhathoki of Triyuga-15, Udayapur district, was suffering from pneumonia and died on the way while being rushed to Biratnagar for treatment. The ambulance carrying him could not make it to the hospital on time due to road obstructions by the UDMF cadres.
After falling severely ill with pneumonia on Saturday night, the infant was immediately taken to Gaighat Hospital in the district at midnight. However, the hospital had to refer the case to Biratnagar as treatment was not possible locally. The infant was immediately rushed to Biratnagar by ambulance (Se 1 Cha 659) at 4:20 am. But the ambulance started facing road obstructions as soon as it crossed the boundary between Udayapur and Saptari distrct.
“We started running into protestors from Rupani onward. Beyond that point, we were delayed many times by agitators armed with bricks and sticks,” said Sharada’s neighbor, Rajan Dhakal, who had accompanied the mother and child in the ambulance. “Although protestors in some places backed off after we showed them the fast deteriorating condition of the child, it took about 30 to 60 minutes to persuade large groups of protestors at dozens of other places. This caused inordinate delay and the infant died for lack of timely treatment,” he added.
According to Dhakal, the ambulance was also stopped to add on a patient from a health institution along the way. “Even when we begged them that our patient was in critical condition, the protestors forced another patient into our ambulance. And then another group of protestors stopped us again and forbade us to go any further. They did not let us go despite our continuous pleadings. Upon realizing that her son’s heartbeat had stopped, Sharada fainted, and everyone realized then that the child was dead.”
Ambulance driver Raja Miya said hours of delay was caused by the obstructions, and the child breathed his last at 11 am.
The infant’s father, Dhan Bahadur, works as a daily-wage laborer in New Delhi, India.
Chakra Bahadur, the infant’s grandfather, stressed that ambulances should never be obstructed during protests. “Although I have lost my beloved grandson in this unfortunate incident, I hope other people do not have to go through the same tragedy,” he said.
“I do not know why our Madhesi brothers are protesting. But such incidents are utterly shameful and protestors should be careful not to resort to such extreme measures,” he added. He opined that the government and the agitating parties should seek a solution at the earliest and put an end to the sufferings of the people.
