Telangana: Shepherd suffers paralysis after delayed treatment for snakebite

The shepherd, Amruth Babu of Pandurangapuram village of Paloncha mandal in the district, is now paralysed since he was not given timely treatment after being bitten by a Russell's viper while tending sheep at the village on Sunday.

Kothagudem: Congress leaders often boast that the party has brought ‘Indiramma Rajyam’ for the poor, but ground reality, as it turned out in the case of a shepherd in Paloncha, was that they had no access to proper treatment in government hospitals even for a snakebite.

The shepherd, Amruth Babu of Pandurangapuram village of Paloncha mandal in the district, is now paralysed since he was not given timely treatment after being bitten by a Russell’s viper while tending sheep at the village on Sunday.

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The family members had rushed him to the Paloncha government hospital for treatment. The staff administered him an injection and asked them to take him to the Government General Hospital in Kothagudem as there was no senior doctor available at Paloncha hospital, the family members told the media.

On the same day evening he was brought to the Kothagudem hospital, where the family members were told to take him to Khammam as his condition was serious. As it would take a lot of time to go to Khammam, he was taken to a private hospital in Kothagudem to save his life. The poor family did not have money for medicines.

Learning the plight of Amruth Babu, the villagers contributed some money. Similarly, on learning about the incident, the founder of Paloncha based Chalavadi Trust, Chalavadi Prakash, his friends Rajyalakshmi and others contributed Rs.13,500 towards his treatment. Several other donors also extended financial support to Amruth Babu.

However, though all this assistance helped in saving his life, the time lost while he was being taken from one hospital to the other, saw the poison spread all over his body, with one leg and a hand being paralysed, the family members said.

Amruth Babu was discharged on Thursday. The locals and the family members expressed serious concerns at the indifferent attitude of staff at the government hospitals.