Guess, in this modern age, what mode of transportation is used as an ambulance in one of the Naxal-infested Bihar village Dhanao in Aurangabad district? Wrong, if you said Maruti Van. It’s the age-old bullock cart which comes to the aid of those who are in dire need of emergency services.
In a place where there is no motorable roads, the locals prefer Ramsunder Singh’s bullock cart, which has a lantern atop the ‘vehicle’, a la ambulance, and a placard at the rear end which reads, “Emergency seva. Sampark kare Ramsunder”.
Though this ‘ambulance’ takes two hours to cover a distance of eight kilometres (where the nearest health centre is located), nobody seems to be complaining. After all, beggars can’t be choosers. “We don’t have any option. Rather, this bullock cart is a blessing for us, as even the Naxalites do not target it knowing fully well that it’s carrying patients from far-flung areas,” said an elderly villager Nagendra.
Ramsunder, who runs this utility service, is a matriculate and was nursing big dreams till a death in the family upset his plans. “The death took place because we could not take the patient to the hospital on time. That day, I resolved to start this ambulance service,” said Ramsunder. “But in a Naxal-dominated area, sans roads, the bullock cart was the only option,” he argued.
But how could someone contact him? Ramsunder flashes his mobile and says that technology has reached the area faster than the roads. Block Development Officer Shakti Shekhar Choudhary promises construction of roads as soon as the “fund is sanctioned”. Till then, Ramsunder does not mind charging Rs 300 per trip.
And the obliged villagers are more than willing to dole out the sum.