Telangana: Tribal man forced to carry daughter's body on bike after hospital refuses ambulance

Khammam: In a heart-wrenching incident reported from Telangana, a man carried the body of his deceased daughter on a bike from the District Headquarters hospital in Khammam to his native village in Enkoor Mandal after the hospital denied them an ambulance despite repeated requests by the child's father. 

The family comes from a tribal community in Kotha Medepalli village of Enkoor Mandal. The child reportedly passed away due to a suspected respiratory tract infection, following which he carried her on his bike.  

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A video of the man carrying the body of his deceased daughter surfaced on social media on Monday, following which the incident came to the fore. The child has been identified as Sukki, daughter of Vetti Mallaiah of Kotha Medapalli village in Enkoor Mandal, who was already receiving treatment at the District Headquarters hospital in Khammam.

After suffering from fits, the child was initially taken to primary health care in Enkoor where the duty doctor referred her to the district headquarters hospital since she had a severe fever, reports the Deccan Chronicle. Vetti Mallaiah said, "We didn't have enough money to hire an ambulance, so we shifted her on our two-wheeler." 

Following her death, the father reportedly requested the hospital for an ambulance so that he could take his daughter back to their native village since he did not have enough money to arrange for one. After being denied an ambulance, the man took a bus to the village and came back on his relative's bike, as per a media report in the Hindu. He then carried his daughter's body on the bike and reached their place after traversing around 60 km. 

Speaking to the Media, the father said that he had requested an employee of the hospital to arrange an ambulance so that they could go to their native place, but were denied. Meanwhile, refuting the allegations, the hospital said that the man did not approach the concerned medical officer. 

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