KUTTANAD IMBROGLIO

The Tiruvalla – Edathua – Thakazhy – Ambalapuzha road connects MC(Main Central) Road with the NH(National Highway). It had taken much more than half a century for it to attain the current shape. The development of the arterial road had progressed at a lazy pace. There were bridges to be built. The road had to be widened and raised to non submergible level. Though successive governments had been in power no one was interested in developing the parcel of land below sea level that is so unique in the world. Wherever you go Kuttanad is picture perfect. Nature has blessed Kuttanad with pristine beauty. Rivers, canals, paddy fields, lakes, fertile earth and vegetation in abundance sheltered by green canopy criss- cross Kuttanad. The greatest asset of Kuttanad is its man power. The people are hard working. They battle the elements at all times. Their strength is their resilience. Wherever they have migrated they have carried their never-say- die spirit with them to conquer the world. William Wordsworth would have narrated Kuttanad alone if he had visited it.

Kuttanad is unfortunate. Had it been in any other state of India or in any other country in the world its potential would by now have been fully explored. The people would have benefitted. The state would have prospered. The country would have had an icon.

The arterial road lies in shambles today. It had been more than a year since it was dug up to lay pipes to transmit drinking water to Alapuzha. The asphalted road is no longer there. It is nothing but a path filled with large craters. Vehicles negotiate the damaged road with great difficulty. At times the wheels dig into the earth and are stuck there causing traffic bottlenecks. It has to be borne in mind that road tax has been levied for the vehicles. There is no insurance for the damages they suffer. People who stay on both sides of the road suffer from endemic diseases the never ending dust transmits.

There was a news item on page no. 3 of Malayala Manorama news paper of 23102016 from Alapuzha.  It read in Malayalam ‘Thakarnna rodilude panja businte melkurayil idichu yatrakarante thalayku parukku’. Translated into English it would read ‘ Passenger suffers head injury hitting the roof of the bus that sped recklessly through the damaged road.’

The news from Edathua is disturbing. It highlights the bandaged head of Mr. N.J. Sajeev, Noottimuppathil Chira, Edathua. Sajeev was thrown up from his seat and his head had hit the luggage rack when the  driver of the KSRTC Bus in which he was travelling had  applied sudden brake as it was about to fall into a ditch on the road.  The bus was travelling at a high speed. The driver Mr. Mathew and the Conductor Mr.Francis after termination of the trip at Edathua took the injured person to the Community Health Centre where no doctors were available. He was given first aid there and later he sought treatment from a private hospital.

Where else these things are possible in the world except Kuttanad? When would the suffering of its people would be alleviated? It is with a heavy heart that I pen this. It seems the only expendable commodity in Kuttanad is the life of the human being.

MIRACULOUS ESCAPE FROM THE CLUTCHES OF DEATH

MIRACULOUS ESCAPE FROM THE CLUTCHES OF DEATH

Dinesh is an executive with a well known company.  I came into contact with him when my Personal  Computer had developed some snags that had defied rectification. The Manager had assured me that he was quite smart and courteous. Dinesh wasted no time to call at my place. He had a look at the machine and he told me it was beyond his capability. But he assured that it was something that his Manager could easily resolve. He returned to his office and requested his Manager to accompany him. Proving Dinesh right the Manager had rectified the issue within no time. I had liked the mindset of the young man very much. He had a pleasant smile and had exuded confidence all around. 

‘Garbage in Garbage out’ is the motto of the computer. My machine was no exception. It must have been my own fault the machine struck work again after a gap of four months.  I requested the Manager to depute Dinesh once again. The Manager explained he was helpless as Dinesh had been hospitalized. But he had promised to visit my place within two days as he had been overburdened due to the nonavailability of Dinesh. True to his word the Manager had set right the machine within two days. It had never occurred to me to ask the Manager why Dinesh had been hospitalised.  Perhaps life had become very much self centered making me utterly unconcerned about others.

True to form the machine malfunctioned again after another two months. I was infuriated. It was a brand new machine.  When I had reported the fault the Manager was a much relieved person as Dinesh was available.

Dinesh reported at my place in the evening. He had no difficulty in setting the machine right. But I was horrified when he had narrated why he had been hospitalized.

One evening Dinesh could reach home a little early.  As he was at home his mother had asked him to buy milk from the booth at Ambalamukku. He went out on his scooter minus the helmet since it was a very short distance though the helmet had been a constant companion ever since he had purchased the vehicle. Alas, the unthinkable had happened on his way back. The vehicle had skidded and he was thrown off. His head had hit the asphalt. There was bleeding from both the legs. Though he felt numb inside the head there was no injury. He was able to get up and since the vehicle had no damage he rode it home.

After handing over the packets of milk to his mother he went to his room and sat on a chair. The moment he sat down he had become unconscious and had fallen down along with the chair. His parents rushed to his room hearing a big thud.   They found him lying on the floor. Blood was flowing from an injured hand. Scared they called up 108. The ambulance reached their home quick. He was taken to the Medical College Hospital. The Doctor on duty understood that the patient was critical. But a CT Scan and an MRI Scan were required for diagnosis and treatment. Unfortunately the Doctor found to his dismay there would be some delay for the scanning.

As the patient was receiving no treatment the parents requested the Doctor to discharge the patient so that he could be taken to a private hospital   in the vicinity that had all the facilities and life supporting systems. The Doctors at the private hospital were professional in their approach. The patient was put through a number of tests and scanning was done immediately. It was found that there was a blood clot in the brain. Though an emergency surgery was the remedy the patient could not be operated upon as he was unconscious. The patient was transferred to the ICU where he was administered injections to dissolve the blood clot. It took 48 hours for the patient to regain consciousness. The Doctors were relieved to observe that the blood clot too had miraculously vanished by that time.

Dinesh was shifted to the ward where he was put on Physiotherapy. It took two months and almost a lakh of Indian rupees for Dinesh to return to his usual self.

Indeed a blood chilling narrative.