Amidst crowd and devotional fervour on the Grand Road in Puri during the ongoing nine-day long Rath Yatra of lord Jagannath and His siblings, a man carried his daughter’s body on a trolley rickshaw towards the Swargadwar for cremation as he was deprived of getting a hearse under the Mahaprayan scheme launched by the State Government.
The devotees were saddened to see such a pathetic scene on the Grand Road where the chariots were taken south turn for the Bahuda Yatra to the Jagannath Temple’s Singhadwar with the deities scheduled on Monday.
According to reports, the deceased was identified as Kabi, daughter of Dhani Sahoo of the town’ Jagannath Ballav area. Her father had carried her by a trolley rickshaw to the District Headquarters Hospital here after she complained of chest pain in the previous night. However, the doctor declared her dead at the hospital in the wee hours on Sunday.
Without waiting for anyone, Sahoo carried his daughter’s body on the same trolley towards the Swargadwar for cremation due to non-availability of a free hearse under the Mahaprayan scheme.
“My daughter had been admitted to hospital. She was administered intravenous fluids, and oxygen was also given to her. However, she died. I dialled the 108 service, and they said that it is unavailable. I didn’t wait for anyone and took the body on the trolley rickshaw,” Dhani Sahoo said.
Meanwhile, the district administration has ordered for a probe into the incidence. “The Mahaprayan scheme is meant for poor people who cannot afford to hire private vehicles. We will look into it; where is the missing link,” Puri Sub-Collector Madhusudan Das said.