Assam woman carries COVID positive father-in-law to hospital on her back; pic goes viral

GUWAHATI: A heartbreaking image is surfacing on social media in which a young woman can be seen carrying an aged man piggyback.

The woman in the pictures, identified as Niharika Das, reportedly carried her father-in-law piggyback to a COVID Care Centre as he was COVID-19 positive. Later, she too tested positive.

The picture is now spreading like wildfire in social media, with users commending the young lady for her incredibly brave act.

Prominent actress Aimee Baruah took to Twitter to hail Das and wished the young woman a speedy recovery.

"In an amazing display of women-power today, Niharika Das, a young woman from Raha, carried her COVID positive father-in-law, Thuleshwar Das, on her back while taking him to the hospital. However, she too tested positive later. I wish this inspiration of a woman a speedy recovery," she wrote.

Netizens, however, have questioned why the young lady had to carry her father-in-law on her shoulders. Was an ambulance not available?

"Nothing to rejoice actually. It reflects the dilapidating infrastructure,which compelled her to do so," a user wrote.

Another user said, "Can we just not romanticise their misery? It’s an utter failure if one has to carry a patient on their back due to lack of money and government facilities. What does that describe?"

Several sections of Assamese society have shown serious concern over some COVID-19 patients walking to from hospitals on foot.

A woman was allegedly raped by two men while she was walking home from a hospital in Assam's Charaideo district. The woman along with her daughter had gone for Covid-19 testing, and after they tested negative, they were denied an ambulance to return home.

On the way home, the two accused men allegedly kidnapped the woman, took her to a nearby tea garden, and raped her.

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