Vellore: In a tragic incident, a family had to carry home the body of a toddler girl, who died due to a snake bite after the ambulance broke down along the treacherous terrain in Vellore district of Tamil Nadu. The incident has caused a political row with the state BJP saying that theM K Stalin led government was “fully responsible” for the toddler's death.
It is learnt that the the one and half year old girl Thanushka hailing from Alleri village in Vellore district was bitten by a snake while she was sleeping outside her residence with her parents on May 26 Friday. Thanushka's father Viji and mother Priya took her to Vellore Government hospital. However, it is said that the the the family could not reach the hospital in time due to lack of a proper macadamized road.
The toddler was declared brought dead at the hospital with doctors saying that the death was caused by the snake venom which had spread across her body. Anaikattu Police registered a case after sending the child's body for autopsy. The child’s body was then handed over to the parents for cremation the next day after which the family left for their village in an ambulance.
However, the ambulance broke down on way to the village owing to dilapidated condition of the road. The deceased Thanushka's mother, Priya, had to carry the toddler in her lap to the village along the unpaved road. The parents and relatives of the child said that they had to trek 10 km carrying the deceased toddler along the treacherous terrain.
Vellore District Collector P.Kumaravel Pandian visited the bereaved family in the mountain village of Alleri on Monday and expressed his condolences. He said that a health nurse has already been employed in this hill village and her contact numbers have also been provided to the people. However, the parents were worried and instead of contacting the village health nurse, they directly took the child to the Damaktu Government Hospital.
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BJP state president Annamalai on Monday took to his Twitter account to target the Stalin led DMK government over the girl's death. The Annamalai while expressing grief over the incident, said that girl could not reach the hospital on time due to lack of proper road facilities. “Under the Prime Minister's Village Road Scheme, the central government has allocated a large amount of funds to build roads in small and hilly villages, but if roads have not been constructed even in villages surrounding the city like Vellore, what has happened to the funds allocated over the years?,” he asked.
“A death of a child due to lack of proper road facilities and not being able to reach the hospital within the stipulated time is not acceptable at all,” he added. Annamalai said that it was “even worse when the child's parents had to walk ten kilometers carrying the child's dead body”. “This is the height of misery that no one should experience. As it has already sent back the funds allocated for the development of Scheduled Community people without using them, now what is the Tamil Nadu government doing without using the funds allocated by the Central Government to improve the infrastructure of the state?”
The BJP state president said that Tamil Nadu government is “fully responsible for the death of this little girl child”. “I urge on behalf of that no further loss should occur due to the neglect of the Tamil Nadu government, that roads should be constructed immediately for the villages and hill villages that do not have proper road facilities throughout Tamil Nadu, and road transport facilities should be ensured for the poor and needy people,” he added.
