BHOPAL: A viral video of five women carrying the dead body of their mother on a cot in Madhya Pradesh's Rewa has sparked a political debate on the health system prevailing in the state.
The deceased, identified as Muliya Kewat (80), was brought to the Raipur-kurchuliyan community health centre where the doctors pronounced her dead.
Since there was no ambulance or hearse available to take the body back home, 5km away, Kewat’s daughters laid the body on a cot and walked all the way back to the village in the sweltering summer heat.
State women’s commission chairperson Shobha Oza on Wednesday tweeted, “A sad incident that shames humanity has come to light in Rewa district, in which daughters are taking the body of their mother on a cot. They neither got an ambulance nor a hearse. In fact, what is going on the cot is not the dead body of a woman, rather the dead system of a so-called government working for women’s welfare.”
State Congress spokesman Narendra Saluja posted the video on his Twitter account and said, “This picture of Raipur-kurchuliyan in Rewa district of Madhya Pradesh is showing the reality of good-governance of the Shivraj government… The dead body of a mother on a cot being carried by daughters. No ambulance, no government help. Five km distance was covered like this.”
Ruling BJP’s state secretary Rajneesh Agarwal defended the government. He said, “Under the state government’s Sambal Scheme, there is a provision of giving Rs 5,000 to the underprivileged family members of the deceased for last rites. Government has made its endowment but it is shameful that society has permitted such an incident. Society also has to do its duty and play a role in a sympathetic situation like this.”
