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

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.

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.

“There is no road between Parappayarkudy and Vellavarakkudy. The residents carried the woman from Parappayarkudy to Keppakkad near Pettimudy—the entry point to the Edamalakkudy panchayat—from where she was shifted by vehicle to the Munnar Tata Hospital. Carrying a patient through more than seven kilometres of dense forest is an arduous task,” Mr. Binu said.

“Without roads and bridges connecting our tribal hamlets, we cannot resolve this pathetic situation. The community urgently demands proper road connectivity to ensure timely emergency medical care,” he added.

According to the panchayat president, four patients have had to be carried on bamboo stretchers over the past month alone. On August 22, Rajathi, 33, a resident of the Keezhvalayamparakudy settlement who suffered from severe fever and chest pain, was carried on a bamboo stretcher for over five kilometres—crossing the Manaliyar river—to reach the primary health centre (PHC) at Edamalakkudy.

On August 14, Poomani, 50, from Meenkuthikudy, suffered from high fever for several days; when her condition worsened, villagers carried her on foot to the primary health facility at Societykudy, the panchayat’s base camp.

On August 12, Malayappan, 75, from Koodallarkudy, had to be carried nearly 10 kilometres through dense forest to Mankulam before being transferred to the Adimaly Taluk Hospital.

Similar incidents were reported last year as well. On August 21, 2025, a five-year-old boy, Karthik, developed a severe fever, forcing his family to trek through the forest with him on a stretcher towards Mankulam hospital; the child died during the journey. The next day, his family had to carry his coffin on foot back to their settlement.

In September 2025, Karthik’s grandmother, Rajakanni, also fell ill with high fever and had to be carried to Mankulam on a bamboo stretcher, surviving the trek.