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
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:
