Devasharma approached the North Bengal Medical College Hospital for an ambulance to carry his deceased son’s body but the ambulance drivers demanded Rs 8,000 for the purpose.
Kolkata: In a shocking incident, a worker in West Bengal had to carry his son’s body in a bag for nearly 200 kms as he was unable to pay the Ambulance fare. The incident was reported in Kaliaganj from Siliguri. The poor man claimed that he travelled in a public bus with the body of his five-month-old child in a bag for 200 kilometres in the West Bengal as he did not have Rs 8,000 as demanded by an ambulance driver for taking him home in Kaliaganj from Siliguri.
Giving details, Ashim Debsharma, the father of the child, said “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. I did not have money to pay Rs 8,000 demanded by an ambulance driver there for transporting my child to Kaliaganj”.
Debsharma Travelled in Bus
Debsharma further stated that he had to put the body in a bag and travelled by a local bus without letting anyone know, fearing that he would be deboarded if the co-passengers of staff became aware of it.
He also stated that an ambulance driver under the 102 scheme told him that the facility was free for patients, but not for transporting corpses.
Devasharma’s twins fell seriously ill
The development came after both of Asim Devasharma’s twins fell seriously ill and were initially admitted to Kaliaganj State General Hospital but were later referred to Raiganj Medical College Hospital as their condition deteriorated.
Reports suggested that both his children were taken to the North Bengal Medical College Hospital for further treatment.
As the children’s health deteriorated, Asim Devasharma’s wife returned home with one of the babies on Thursday. However, the other child died on Saturday night while undergoing treatment at the hospital.
Devasharma Gets No Help From Hospital
Later, Devasharma approached the North Bengal Medical College Hospital for an ambulance to carry his deceased son’s body to his home. However, the ambulance drivers demanded Rs 8,000 to carry his son’s body.
Left with no other choice, Devasharma had to board a private bus from Bengal’s Siliguri to Raiganj and then took another bus to reach his hometown, Kaliaganj.
“After getting down at the Vivekananda intersection in Kaliaganj, I contacted one person. He arranged for an ambulance,” the father said.
Political leaders express concern
West Bengal BJP chief Sukanta Majumder, expressed grief over the incident on social media and blamed the state government for the poor condition of healthcare facilities.
On the other hand, BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari questioned the efficacy of the Trinamool Congress government’s ‘Swasthya Sathi’ health insurance scheme.
