Nagpur, India- A tribal man named Pandu Jetti carried his three-year-old daughter, Ravina, who was sick with malaria, on his shoulders through waist-deep, flooded nullahs to reach the nearest health centre in Laheri, 7 km away from his village in Bhamragarh, near the Chhattisgarh border.

The entire Bhamragarh area has been marked as a high-risk zone for malaria by the Maharashtra government. Pandu walked 3 km from his village, Bangadi, to reach the two flooded nullahs. He then crossed the strong currents of the Gundenoor and Bangadi nullahs, which cut off his village during the monsoon. After crossing the nullahs, he walked another 4 km to reach the primary health centre (PHC).

The bridges over these nullahs, which are part of a highway project linking Gadchiroli with Chhattisgarh, are still not finished, leaving the villagers stranded during heavy rains.

Dr. Sambhaji Bhokare, the doctor at Laheri PHC who is also infected with malaria, said that Ravina is responding well to treatment. "She came with a very high fever, and we confirmed it was malaria with a quick test. I advised her father to take her to Bhamragarh Hospital, but he refused and left the PHC," Dr Bhokare said. He made sure Ravina was stable before they left and informed local health officials and social workers about her condition.

Later, villagers Laxmikant Bogami and Nana Bhandekar convinced Pandu to bring Ravina back to the PHC. They successfully crossed the flooded nullahs again and returned home safely. Dr. Bhokare mentioned that despite the high number of malaria cases, there have been no malaria deaths in Laheri for the past two years.

Social worker Bogami stressed the need to finish the bridges over the Bangadi River and Gundenoor nullah quickly to prevent any deaths in the marooned villages during the monsoon. He urged agencies like PWD and NHAI to speed up their projects.