JOIN USIt all happened when Rajendra came out of his house on November 26 at midnight to attend nature’s call when he experienced some sharp pricking into his leg and later he realised that he was a victim of snake bite. On his cry for help, the people in neighborhood rushed him to the hospital in Kundapur after giving him some first aid treatment. He was later shifted to Adarsha Hospital in Kundapur and very next day the doctors in the hospital told the family to take Rajendra immediately to KMC, Manipal. Rajendra’s wife Ratna informed Deccan Herald that though the doctors have assured to cure Rajendra, it would take long time than expected as his kidneys have been severely damaged and his heart too is not functioning properly.
“The hospital bill has crossed Rs 35000 in just two days,” she said and added that she would require much more than expected as he is in ICU.
The couple has a two-year-old daughter and they belong to Scheduled Tribe community. Prior to the new scheme initiated by the State government to make the ST people employable by giving them handloom machines and raw materials, the family was in distress and was struggling to meet the day-to-day means. The snake bite would perhaps throw the family into streets again, Ratna said.
District Handloom and Textile Department Assistant Director B R Yogheesh informed Deccan Herald that the beneficiary scheme helped many scheduled tribe families in Bavadi to take up handloom works through skill development programme. Rajendra’s family is one among them. Though the programme helped them to eke out a living, the tragedy that struck the family has put them in dire straits as Ratna is not in a position to afford the expenses of the treatment, he added.