Edamalakkudy resident carried on foot for over 5 km to nearest health facility
Residents of the Edamalakkudy tribal panchayat in Kerala continue to face severe hardships due to a lack of road connectivity, forcing them to carry patients on bamboo stretchers across forests and rivers. Recent incidents highlight the ongoing struggle for basic medical access in remote tribal settlements.
Why it matters
This underscores the persistent infrastructure gap in rural and tribal regions, which directly impacts the right to healthcare and basic human dignity.
Lack of proper road connectivity continues to force residents of Edamalakkudy tribal panchayat in Idukki, Keralam, to carry patients from the settlements on bamboo stretchers for kilometres through dense forests and rivers for medical care.
On Saturday (August 22, 2026), Rajathi, a 33-year-old resident of the Keezhvalayamparakudy settlement, who developed high fever and chest pain had to be carried on a bamboo stretcher for more than 5 km, crossing the Manaliyar river, to the Primary Health Centre (PHC) at Edamalakkudy. She was then referred to the Adimaly Taluk Hospital for advanced treatment.
Tribespeople carry a patient on a makeshift bamboo stretcher across the Manaliyar river to reach the hospital at Edamalakkudy in Idukki on Saturday (August 22, 2026). | Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
According to the residents, this is the third such incident in a month.
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