ST driver-conductor’s detour to save ailing tribal boy goes in vain

NAGPUR: In an ironic turn to a humane effort, a state transport bus driver-conductor’s valiant attempt to save an ailing four-year-old tribal boy in the Maoist heartland of Gadchiroli went in vain on Monday. The boy could not be saved, but the incident highlighted poor healthcare infrastructure in the district.
Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) bus driver Gaurav Amle and conductor Milan Gavai deviated from the designated Bhamragarh-Nagpur route and took the bus (with nearly 45 passengers) to Allapalli, ensure that the child, Aryan Talande, gets immediate medical assistance.
The Nagpur-bound MSRTC bus, which belonged to Nagpur’s Imambada depot, was passing through Perimili when the hapless Talande family boarded the bus with the child wrapped in a bedsheet as no ambulance or other transport was available in the early hours of the day. Gavai spotted Aryan getting convulsions in the lap of his mother.
The Talande family from Koreli village of Aheri taluka had rushed Aryan, who had various health complications arising out of jaundice, to Perimili primary health centre (PHC), 3km away from their village, after his health deteriorated. Perimili PHC staffers referred him to Aheri’s taluka-level rural hospital, which had better facilities.
The family was restless with the child in their arms as he seemed to be gradually sinking. Sensing the gravity of the situation, Amle, without thinking twice, decided he must act fast. Going beyond the call of duty, he took a detour to reach the nearest PHC at Alapalli. But the PHC doctors pronounced Aryan dead. The news left the Talande family crestfallen, so were Amle, Gavai and the bus passengers. However, Alapalli residents lauded Amle’s effort.
Imambada depot manager Swati Tambe, who praised Amle-Gavai duo’s humane gesture, informed that the Talande family wanted to get off the bus about a km ahead of Alapalli as they realised that Aryan’s life was on the brink. “Gavai felt it would be inhumane to allow the family to get down at a village. He convinced other passengers about the urgency of the detour. He learnt Aheri rural govt hospital was 10km away but the closest medical facility at Alapalli PHC was 2km away,” said Tambe.
Tambe said the bus was taken to Alapalli PHC instead of heading to Aheri as per the itinerary just to save the boy. “When Amle-Gavai duo realized that the boy was no more, they summoned an ambulance service to help the grieving family return to their village,” said Tambe. Amle also paid the family’s bus fare from his pocket and refunded amount to them.
According to Tiger Group representative Sai Tusligari, they had rushed to Alapalli PHC with their ambulance, but it was too late. “There is an acute shortage of 108 ambulances in the district, especially in Aheri and south Gadchiroli,” said Tulsigari, adding that the rural hospital at Aheri too has doctors and nurses but the facility is marred by poor infrastructure and facilities.