Ahmedabad, Jun 29 (IANS): A 75-year-old woman from Zarwani village in Garudeshwar taluka fell ill and had to be taken for treatment. The old woman's son took her to Rajpipla. For that they had to reach the main road by walking for 4 to 5 kms on the riverbed. They made a video of this which went viral on social media.

With the onset of monsoon, the roads in the hinterland villages, including Zarwani, are not in a state for vehicles to reach there.

In the surrounding villages of Narmada, due to lack of paved roads or bridges over rivers, people have to walk four to five kms to reach the main road and if anyone falls ill in the village, they are forced to go to the hospital.

Dhiraj Vasava's 75-year-old mother, who lives in Zarwani's Ukhakund falia, fell ill. Eventually the old woman was taken to the hospital tied in a bedsheet. The tribals are forced to carry the sick patients to the hospital on their shoulders.

"My 75-year-old mother Devkiben fell ill and had to be taken to hospital. Since a vehicle could not reach our village, we wrapped her in a bedsheet and crossed the river to reach the main road. From there she was taken in a vehicle to Rajpipla Civil Hospital. The road has not been built in our falia for years," said Dhiraj Vasava, son of the patient.

Zarwani is located only 7 km from Kevadia and is being developed as a tourist destination.

Ghanshyam Patel, BJP president from Narmada, told IANS that this was done intentionally. All the villages have roads, and this village is being developed as a tourist place now. I am aware of the incident but someone made this video deliberately, he said.

Bhartiya Tribal Party MLA Mahesh Vasava told IANS that there are many scattered groups of houses on the hills, it's difficult for any vehicle to reach them especially during the monsoon season. They don't have basic facilities like primary health centres, schools, or any medical assistance nearby. So they have to reach the main roads by walking.