Shillong, October 5: A three-year-and-11-month-old child, allegedly died on October 1 while being carried on foot for medical treatment from Domkyrkoh under the Rambrai-Jyrngam constituency in West Khasi Hills, highlighting the challenges of road connectivity and access to emergency healthcare in remote areas.
According to the family, the child fell seriously ill on the night of September 30, but vehicle drivers refused to travel to Domkyrkoh because of the poor condition of the unpaved road. The parents carried the child towards Mawdet the following morning, hoping to get a vehicle, but the child allegedly died midway after they spent around three to four hours walking. The family returned to Domkyrkoh with the body and the child was buried on October 3.
The West Khasi Hills District Administration has taken serious note of the incident and sought reports from the BDO, Rambrai Block; DMHO, West Khasi Hills; and Executive Engineer, PWD (Roads), to establish the sequence of events and assess healthcare, transport and road connectivity challenges.
As per the preliminary assessment, Domkyrkoh falls under the healthcare coverage area of the Mawkhiat Sub-Centre, a functional PM-ABHIM Sub-Centre operational for the past year and located around one-and-a-half hours on foot from the village under Rambrai PHC. A Chief Minister’s Safe Motherhood Scheme transport arrangement is also available in the region for emergency patient transfers. However, the Administration said preliminary information indicates that local health workers were not informed about the child’s illness, preventing activation of the available emergency transport mechanism.
The Administration said vehicular access to Domkyrkoh passes through Mainop and becomes non-motorable during adverse weather and heavy rainfall, while public transport options remain limited. It said a 10-km project, “Road from 4th Km of Rambrai-Mawrok PMGSY Road to Nonglang via Domkyrkoh, Phase-I”, has been sanctioned under the Central Road and Infrastructure Fund (CRIF) and is expected to provide direct, all-weather connectivity to Domkyrkoh and improve access to healthcare, emergency services and other facilities in the wider Mawdet area.
“If it was a lapses from the health facilities I would have order and enquiry but sadly because the Child had not reached the facilities and died on the way, I think that is nothing for me to put an enquiry into that but we need to find out the cause of death for which I have asked the health department team to visit the family tomorrow . Tomorrow the health department team will go and find out the cause of death, I cannot order an enquiry because there was no lapse,” Health Minister and Government Spokesperson Wailadmiki Shylla said.
“It is very unfortunate incident as this has cost precious life, but the issue is because of the connectivity because not only that area but there are certain areas in Meghalaya where connectivity is an issue,” Shylla said.
“They have not even informed to Asha also , the health department was unaware of this. It is unfortunate this incident,” he said.
The District Administration said a multi-disciplinary Health Department team will conduct an on-ground inspection at Domkyrkoh on October 6, with further visits planned to assess healthcare needs, accessibility and emergency medical response. It said the findings will guide immediate measures, while the PWD (Roads) will pursue steps for execution of the sanctioned CRIF project.
Shylla said the government was also working to improve connectivity and ensure the availability of suitable vehicles, including 4×4 ambulances, in remote areas.
Poor road connectivity blamed as child dies while being carried for treatment in remote West Khasi Hills village
