Patient carried on makeshift bamboo stretcher to hospital in Keralam’s Edamalakkudy; fourth incident in a month

Tribespeople carry a patient on a makeshift bamboo stretcher from Parappayarkudy to Keppakkady at Edamalakkudy in Idukki on Monday (August 31, 2026).

| Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

The lack of proper roads and bridges continues to severely disrupt daily life for the Muthuvan tribal community in Edamalakkudy, Keralam’s first tribal panchayat near Munnar.Transporting critically ill patients on makeshift bamboo stretchers across rugged forest terrain has become an alarming routine.On Monday (August 31, 2026), a 40-year-old woman suffering from high fever had to be carried over seven kilometres through dense forests to access medical care. The woman, identified as Sumathi from the Parappayarkudy settlement, was eventually admitted to the Munnar General Hospital. This marks the fourth such incident reported in the panchayat in under a month.‘No other option’Edamalakkudy panchayat president Binu M. stated that Sumathi developed a severe fever, leaving villagers with no option but to transport her on a bamboo stretcher.

Tribespeople carry a patient on a makeshift bamboo stretcher from Parappayarkudy to Keppakkady at Edamalakkudy in Idukki on Monday (August 31, 2026).

| Photo Credit: