Daana Majhi, 48, a tribal and resident of Melagahara village in Kalahandi's Thuamul Rampur block, was left with no option but to carry Amanga Dei Majhi, 42, on his shoulders when the administration failed to provide him an ambulance or a hearse vehicle.
Tuberculosis patient Amanga died on Wednesday at the district headquarters hospital in Bhawanipatna town, which is 60km from Melagahara.
Officials sources said Daana had brought his ailing wife to the district headquarters hospital yesterday as her condition had deteriorated. By evening she turned critical and died after midnight. Daana was informed about his wife's death around 1am today.
When Daana reached the hospital to bring back the body, he had expected the district health care authorities to help him.
Daana said: "I pleaded with the hospital authorities to arrange for a vehicle or an ambulance to carry the body. But as no one came forward to help me, I decided to carry the body on my shoulder to the village for cremation."
It is ironical that Daana was left to carry the body even when the state government's has in place the Mahaprayana scheme to ferry bodies for free. All district hospitals have dedicated ambulances for the scheme.
It is another matter that a new ambulance is lying unutilised at Kalahandi district headquarters hospital as none of the ministers nor the local MLA has time to inaugurate it.
With dawn still a few hours away, Daana set out on his journey with the body of his wife on his shoulder. He had for company the eldest among his three daughters, Sanadei Manjhi, 12.
As the day broke, he walked on carrying the burden of his dead wife.
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Around 9.30am and 16km into the journey, a few residents of Sagada, a tiny roadside settlement, came to his rescue when they saw Daana struggling to maintain balance with the corpse on his shoulder.
"When we saw him struggling to carry the body, we immediately pleaded with the district collector and a few other influential persons for help. When no help came forth, we spoke to the Lanjigarh MLA. The MLA responded and sent his political representative Gobinda Pradhan. He used his good offices and an ambulance was arranged," said journalist Ajit Singh.
Pradhan said that apart from arranging the ambulance, Daana was also given some financial assistance.
As the incident snowballed into a controversy, Kalahandi district collector Brunda D. announced that Daana would be given Rs 10,000 from the Red Cross fund as assistance.
The chief district medical officer of Kalahandi Braja Kishore Brahma, however, blamed Daana for the incident.
"Without intimating us, Daana took away his wife's body," he said.
On being asked how Daana could take away the body in the presence of hospital employees and security staff, Brahma said the issue would be looked into.
A similar incident had taken place in Nabarangpur district in May when unable to arrange a hearse, a body had to be carried on the pillion seat of a motorcycle by the family members of the deceased.
-Telegraph Calcutta