95-year-old woman walks 20 km to get anti-rabies injection in Odisha amid transport strike
Nuapada: In a heartbreaking ordeal caused by the ongoing statewide drivers’ strike in Odisha, a 95-year-old woman was left with no choice but to walk nearly 20 km—10 km each way—to receive her final dose of an anti-rabies injection.
Mangalbari Mahara, a nonagenarian resident of Sikabahal village in Sinapali block of Nuapada district, had been undergoing treatment following a dog bite. With no transportation available due to the protest, she and her son Gurudev Mahara had no option but to walk to the Sinapali community health centre, as reported by The New Indian Express on Friday.
Despite her age and frail health, Mangalbari managed the journey on foot with the help of a walking stick and her son’s support. After receiving the injection, the duo walked back to their village.
“I came to know about the incident from news reports. The association, which has called the strike is responsible for such a situation. Moreover, the family could have borrowed a vehicle from someone and taken the woman for vaccination,” TNIE quoted Sinapali BDO Karmi Oram as saying.
However, the drivers' association denied responsibility, stating that essential services had not been disrupted during the protest. According to the association’s district president, Durga Charan Bishi, neither the affected family nor the local administration had informed them about the situation. He maintained that had they been notified, necessary assistance would have been provided.
Bishi also emphasised that ensuring medical access in such scenarios was the administration’s duty, adding that blaming the association was “not justified.”
While several locals later questioned why an ambulance service wasn’t used, Gurudev explained their lack of awareness. “We were unsure whether 108 ambulance could be called for vaccination. We could have borrowed a two-wheeler, but my mother would not have been able to sit on it. We could not find any other vehicle, so we had no choice but to walk,” TNIE quoted Gurudev as saying.
Meanwhile, the supply of essential goods, including fuel, continues to be disrupted across Odisha due to the ongoing strike by the Odisha Drivers’ Mahasangha, an association representing nearly four lakh drivers. Since Tuesday, drivers of private buses, trucks, taxis, and other commercial vehicles have been off the roads, pressing for a range of demands including the formation of a welfare fund, pension benefits after the age of 60, legal protection against public hostility, and designated parking areas with basic amenities every 100 km.
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Man arrested with Rs 2.54-crore heroin in Mumbai
Mumbai (PTI): Police have arrested a man and seized over 500 grams of heroin worth Rs 2.54 crore in the illicit market from him in Mumbai, officials said on Friday.
The police's Anti-Narcotics Cell (ANC) made the drug seizure in Santacruz in the western suburbs. The operation was conducted by the Kandivali unit of the ANC on Thursday as part of a special crackdown against drug trafficking in the area, they said.
Acting on specific inputs, an ANC team conducted a raid in Santacruz (East) and intercepted a man. During a search, the team recovered 508 grams of high-grade heroin from his possession, an official said.
The seized contraband, a highly addictive, opioid drug derived from morphine, is estimated to be worth Rs 2.54 crore in the international market, he informed.
Following the seizure, a case was registered against the man under relevant sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985, and he was formally placed under arrest in the early hours of Friday.
The police are currently investigating the source of the drug and trying to identify the intended recipients of the consignment, he said.
