Bageshwar : While the nation talks of development, many villages in Uttarakhand still struggle without basic facilities. A heartbreaking incident was reported from Selkuna village under Garur tehsil, where villagers had to carry an 85-year-old ailing woman in a palanquin for five kilometers due to the absence of a road.
The woman, identified as Tulsi Devi, wife of Nar Bahadur Thapa, had been unwell for several days. Her son Govind Singh Thapa, who was unable to take her to the hospital earlier, managed to arrange a palanquin and local youths for help during the Navami and Vijayadashami holidays.
Villagers carried Tulsi Devi through rough mountain paths and brought her to the main road, from where she was taken to the hospital in a private vehicle. Locals stated that in the absence of young men in the village, such situations become even more difficult.
For the villagers, carrying elderly and sick people in palanquins has become a necessity. Residents including Bipin Joshi, Prakash Joshi, Shekharanand, Rajan Bahadur, Kishore Bahadur, Badridatt, Parmanand, Mohan Chand, Birma Devi, and Anil Bahadur said they have repeatedly demanded road construction, but no action has been taken so far. During the rainy and winter seasons, the situation becomes even more critical.
