No transport, elderly woman carried in basket to hospital

IT was late evening in the remote Shiraguni village in Sirsi taluk recently when 75-year-old Mahadevi Subbraya Hegde broke her leg after she slipped and fell in her house.

- SUBHASH CHANDRA N S @ Shiraguni (Uttara Kannada)

IT was late evening in the remote Shiraguni village in Sirsi taluk recently when 75-year-old Mahadevi Subbraya Hegde broke her leg after she slipped and fell in her house. It was dark and she was in need of urgent medical attention. With the mud road having become slushy and slippery due to heavy rainfall, Mahadevi had to be carried in a bamboo basket made by the locals for 5 km to finally reach the hospital in Sirsi, which is about 40 km away from Siraguni village.

This is not an isolated case. Many such incidents have taken place in this village which has 50 houses and is home to 300 people. The villagers have been facing serious problems due to lack of roads and communication network. The village earlier had bus service but it was stopped five years ago. "Ours is the last village on the border of Sirsi and Ankola. Bus service to the village was discontinued five years ago as there is no motorable road. This makes transportation a nightmare here," said Bhageerathi Bhat a local resident.