A CORRESPONDENT
LAKHIMPUR: There have been widespread reactions in Lakhimpur following the death of a youth on June 7 in Mumbai from the district due to alleged lack of medical treatment.
As per report, the deceased youth, named Ranjit Dutta (39), son of Golap Dutta and resident of Phoolbari Majgaon under Laluk Police Station of the district, had been working in a private sector company in Mumbai for almost 20 years. Due to the current COVID-19 situation and the lockdown, Ranjit Dutta along with his brother Jatin Dutta was stranded in Mumbai. They decided to stay in a secured place in Mumbai instead of coming back home.
Ranjit Dutta was suffering from stomach ache, vomiting and gastritis-like problem for the past one week and his condition gradually deteriorated in Mumbai where treatment facility for common ailments is not easily available due to the COVID-19 situation. When his condition became critical, his brother tried to contact the Assam Government but was not successful. Finally, Ranjit was shifted to a government hospital but his condition turned more critical during the time till the COVID-19 test and other diagnostic tests were completed. Despite his critical condition, he was allegedly not admitted in the hospital and sent back to his room with prescribed medicines. After arriving in his room, Ranjit started to vomit profusely and his brother took him back to the hospital on foot because of the non-availability of taxi and auto-rickshaw. The 108 ambulance service is also limited only for COVID-19 patients.
This time also Ranjit was not admitted in the hospital and he was again sent back with a suggestion of transfusing saline. In this regard, Ranjit's brother, Jatin Dutta lamented that had he been admitted in the hospital, they would have not lost him. "The attending doctors did not even touch him despite the fact that he had tested negative for coronavirus," he added.
Then Ranjit was brought back to his room and his brother managed to get him a saline transfused. However, he did not recover and breathed his last at 9.30 pm on June 7. After his demise, his attendees could not contact the Maharashtra and Assam governments till Tuesday morning and as a result, his body had to be cremated on the seashore in Mumbai.
Ranjit got married three years back and he could not come home during the last two years. He is survived by his wife, two elder brothers and a younger sister. His demise due to alleged lack of adequate treatment has cast a pall of gloom in the Phoolbari area.