KOTTAYAM: Ashraya, a charity, has dedicated an ambulance for tribal population of Edamalakudy offering free services 24X7. Their ailing members and pregnant women were being carried to the hospital manually through the Munnar forest reserve covering the entire distance of more than 40 km, till Pettimudy, the nearest vehicle point. "The ambulance will be available for them full time," a trust official, A.V. Sasi, told DC.
As the 18-km road from Societykudy to Pettimudy is in deplorable condition in the absence of tarring, they built the ambulance on a Jeep platform. There are no roads at all from Societykudy to the other tribal settlements inside the forests. Edamalakudy is a group of 26 tribal hamlets (kudies) at a distance of four to five kilometres where 2,886 Muthuvans live. As of now, they have only a sub centre with two male nurses but no facilities for advanced treatment for them.
