In an utterly inhumane incident, a syndicate of ambulance drivers at the government-run Ruia Hospital in Tirupati demanded over Rs 10,000 from a farm labourer to transport his dead child's body to their village just 90 km away.
The poor father who could not afford the amount was forced to carry the body on a motorbike as the drivers' mafia even assaulted an ambulance driver engaged from outside.
The 10-year-old from Chitvel in neighbouring Annamayya District boy was admitted to the Sri Venkateshwara Ramnarain Ruia Government General Hospital a few days back for treatment of kidney and liver ailments. He died on Monday night.
The already brokenhearted father was aghast when the ambulance drivers demanded Rs 10,000 (some reports claimed Rs 20,000) for transporting the boy's body. He then contacted his relatives back home who arranged an ambulance from outside. But the drivers even assaulted the driver and threatened him away.
The hapless father was then left with no option but to carry the boy's body riding pillion on a two-wheeler of a relative.
Opposition leader and former chief minister shared the video of the incident on Twitter, blaming the Jaganmohan Reddy government for the tragedy.
“My heart aches for innocent little Jesava, who died at Tirupati’s RUIA hospital. His father pleaded with authorities to arrange an ambulance which never came. With mortuary vans lying in utter neglect, private ambulance providers asked a fortune to take the child home for final rites,” the TDP leader said.
“The poverty-stricken father had no choice but to carry his child on a bike for 90 km. This heart-wrenching tragedy is a reflection of the state of healthcare infrastructure in Andhra Pradesh which is crumbling under Jaganmohan Reddy's administration,” Naidu charged.
A Tirupati district official said that the hospital has a mortuary van but only operates from 7 am to 7 pm, and the boy died at about 7:30 pm.
“Though there is a prescribed per KM price the private ambulances should charge, they demand hefty amounts from the patients. There have been several complaints against these ambulance drivers' gangdom in the past too,” the official told DH.
Following the public outcry over the incident, the CMO has ordered a detailed probe. Ruia Hospital Resident Medical Officer on duty Dr Saraswati was put under suspension while the superintendent Dr Bharathi was issued a show-cause notice.
A criminal case has been registered against the four accused ambulance drivers. “Police, road transport and health department officials have convened a meeting to draft measures so that such incidents do not reoccur,” the official said.
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