locals of Kainphulia village carried the dead body of a youth, who died after drowning, to the Mayurbhanj district Collector’s office here on a cot on Sunday to protest against the delay in arrival of 108 ambulance and Fire Brigade.
Arjun Singh had slipped into deep water while taking bath in a dam’s reservoir. As his condition deteriorated, locals called up the 108 ambulance service to take him to hospital. But even after two hours, the ambulance did not turn up which led to his death, the villagers alleged.
“We were present at the spot when Arjun was taking bath. After some time, we heard him cry out that he was drowning. We rescued him; and after we found him gasping for breath, we contacted the 108 ambulance service to take him to hospital. Even after two hours, no ambulance arrived; and Arjun died before our eyes,” said an eyewitness.
The locals carried the body on the cot and began marching towards the Collector’s office, about five km from the village. However, police intervened midway and sent the body for postmortem.
The locals also alleged that they had also rung up the Fire Services when Arjun was drowning, but they also failed to turn up. However, what peeved the locals most was that their village is located only five km from the district headquarters, but still emergency services eluded them in a time of distress.