A 13-year-old Odisha tribal boy’s search for better mobile network connectivity to attend online classes proved fatal after he slipped on a hillock and suffered grievous injuries.
An Odisha tribal boy’s search for better mobile network connectivity to attend online classes proved fatal after he slipped on a hillock and suffered grievous injuries in Pandraguda village of Rayagada district.
With schools closed since the outbreak of the pandemic, 13-year-old Adira Gagaranga, a class 7 student at a missionary school in Cuttack, returned home to Pandraguda village. He used to climb small hillocks nearby to attend online class as the network connectivity in his village was very poor.
The rocks on the hillock were sodden and slippery due to incessant rain over the last couple of days. Tragedy struck when Adira, who was attending class at around 5 pm, fell down after losing his balance on a slippery stone, sustaining injuries to his leg and head.
After being informed, a firefighting team reached the spot and rushed the critically-wounded Adira to nearby Padmapur Community Health Centre (CHC). When his condition kept deteriorating, even after initial treatment, doctors referred him to MKCG Medical College and Hospital in Berhampur. Adir succumbed to his injuries before reaching MKCG Medical.
Adira’s family was inconsolable at the news of his death.
Coming from a marginalized family, Adira’s father Narhari earns a meagre Rs 2,000 per month and was unable to afford a smartphone for his son. Adira’s elder brother recently bought a second-hand smartphone so the 13-year-old could attend online classes.
Adira’s father Narhari Gagaranda said, “On Tuesday afternoon, while Adira was attending his class on the hillock, the stone being slippery due to rain earlier, he suddenly slipped and fell on the ground and the stone crushed his right leg. Adira was unconscious but breathing when we found him, we immediately got a vehicle and rushed him to a nearby hospital. He died while undergoing treatment.”
ODISHA MPs APPEAL TO UNION TELECOM & IT MINISTER
Notably, Union Telecom and IT Minister Aswini Vaishnaw is scheduled to visit Rayagada on Friday.
Koraput Lok Sabha MP Saptagiri Ulaka has urged Union Minister Aswini Vaishnaw to hold a review meeting with concerned authorities during his visit and take necessary steps in strengthening mobile connectivity and data network in the region.
Odisha School and Mass Education Minister Samir Ranjan Dash told India Today, “It is a long standing demand of the chief minister before the central government to improve the mobile network and internet connectivity in the state.”
According to Samir Ranjan Dash, Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik has repeatedly written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and raised the issue in different quarters. “As Telecom Minister Aswini Vaishnaw ji is a Rajya Sabha MP from Odisha, we are expecting he will do something for the state,” he added.
