Snakebite Victim Dies as Ambulance Fails to Reach; Daughter Walks 8 km Carrying Mother, But It's Too Late

A heartbreaking tragedy from Odisha’s Kandhamal district highlights the life-threatening consequences of poor infrastructure. In Dumeripada village, under the Mundigarh Panchayat of Tumudibandh block, 48-year-old widow Balmadu Majhi lost her life after being bitten by a venomous snake—simply because there was no road for an ambulance to reach her home.

The incident occurred late at night while Balmadu was sleeping. Suspecting a snakebite, the panicked family dialed for an ambulance, but it couldn't reach their remote village due to the lack of a motorable road.

With no other option, her daughter and a few villagers carried the unconscious woman on their shoulders, trekking nearly 8 kilometers on foot to reach the main road. From there, they managed to get her to Tumudibandh Medical Centre.

Unfortunately, after a quick primary treatment, she was referred to Baliguda Medical, but she succumbed to the venom during the transfer.

The Tumudibandh Police has registered a case and sent the body for postmortem. Officials are investigating whether quicker intervention could have saved her life.

This tragic case has once again exposed the urgent need for basic infrastructure in rural India. If there had been a proper road, and the ambulance had arrived on time, perhaps a grieving daughter wouldn’t have lost her only parent.