Kamal Ghorui
BHUBANESWAR/CUTTACK: A 70-year-old man pedalled 300km from Odisha‘s Sambalpur to a hospital in Cuttack with his ailing wife on a rickshaw van after failing to raise enough money for an ambulance and is now on his way back in the same fashion, defying age and bone-chilling cold.“I have two loves in my life. One is my wife whom I am taking back home, and the other is my rickshaw van. I cannot leave either of them,” said rickshaw-puller Babu Lohar as he pedalled along, refusing help from police or locals. His one-way journey to Cuttack took him nine days.In Nov last year, Lohar’s wife Jyoti suffered a stroke and local officials at Modipada village in Sambalpur referred them to the state-run SCB Medical College and Hospital, Cuttack. After two months of treatment, the couple resumed their journey back home on Jan 19.“I did not have money to hire any vehicle, so I took out my rickshaw van. I put some old cushions on the rickshaw and let my wife lie on them. I pedalled chanting God’s name,” said Lohar.After nine days, covering 30km by the day and halting near roadside shops by the night, he reached the Cuttack hospital. After two months of prolonged treatment, Lohar resumed his journey back home to Sambalpur on Jan 19.Lohar’s journey highlights the harsh realities faced by the poor and elderly in accessing basic healthcare and transport facilities, even as it stood as a powerful testament to a spouse’s devotion.Another twist in fate saw the couple meet with a mishap in Cuttack’s Tangi area. A vehicle brushed the rickshaw while overtaking, and Jyoti fell on the road and hit her head, but Lohar did not sustain any injury.He took Jyoti to the local Tangi community health centre to bandage the wound. The hospital provided food and allowed them to stay overnight to avoid the cold. They resumed their journey on Jan 20.Tangi SHO Bikash Sethi spotted the couple and offered to help Lohar get a vehicle, but he “politely refused”. “His determination and emotional attachment are deeply moving. I haven’t seen anything like this ever. After repeated requests, he accepted some cash from us for food on the way,” Sethi said.
