Assam: 75-Year-Old Injured Grandmother from Sivasagar Forced to Walk 23 Kms amid Lockdown

Jorhat, April 18, 2020:

A heart-rending incident has been reported from the Jorhat district of Assam, where an elderly lady, Kadami Gogoi, was forced to walk around 20 kms, reportedly due to the callous attitude of the hospital authorities of the Jorhat Medical College (JMC) and local police personnel.

Video:

https://www.facebook.com/ne.inside/videos/2260069034299728/

The 75-year-old woman, who was reffered to the Jorhat Medical College from Sivasagar district after she suffered an elbow injury, has had to walk several kilometres after the hospital authorities refused to let her stay in the hospital after a quick check-up.

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“On April 16, she fell down from the bed and from the Sivasagar Civil Hospital she was transferred to Jorhat Medical College in an ambulance. They (hospital authorities) said that we should leave after a couple of x-rays. We had no option but to wait outside. In Jorhat Police Station, where we went next, they refused to help us either", the old lady's daughter-in-law told mediapersons.

The daughter-in-law of the Sivasagar granny says that the duo were then helped by a traffic officer who said that he would show them the way, but he too abandoned them. "But after he left us, we came on foot on April 17", she informed us.

They walked all the way to Kakojan in Jorhat, a stretch of around 20 kilometres from the JMC, because they did not have any other option in the midst of the nationwide lockdown. When they reported at the Lahdoi Garh Police station where again they were refused any help or assistance.

The daughter-in-law of the Assam granny has further accused the hospital authorities of mistreating the old woman. "It is an old woman you are dealing with, the age of your mothers, how can you behave like this", she asks, wagging the proverbial accusatory finger at the hospital authorities.

In video that has reached Inside Northeast, the old lady can be seen breaking down into tears right in front of the camera, as she recalls her ordeal.

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At Teok, the plight of the old woman was noticed by a few youths who contacted the local authorities and arranged for the woman to be taken to Sivasagar. At Sivasagar, the woman was forwarded to the local hospital for treatment with the help of local media personnel, who seem to have made the well-being of the poor woman their cause.

"I suffered a lot. It hurts all over; after walking my legs hurt. Police said that we should arrange our own transport. They said that the medical people should arrange. However, the medical people also chucked us out, saying that we should leave ourselves", Gogoi later said, after coming to Sivasagar.

[caption id="attachment_57436" align="alignnone" width="660"] Gogoi returns to Jorhat[/caption]

It can be argued that the image of the sobbing woman is perhaps reflective of the plight of the nation's poor, who have been reduced to a heap of misery and agony as their income sources have been snapped off and their health and overall well-being has been put in jeopardy.

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