“Take me to hospital please...” This repeated plea of Anwar Ali (18), who was bleeding profusely after being run over by a State Road Transport Corporation bus in Koppal town on Wednesday, fell on deaf ears. People had gathered in good numbers, but they were all busy recording the incident on the mobile.
Finally, Anwar Ali got a couple of sips of water provided to him by a bystander who also summoned an ambulance. The ambulance did come but it was too late. The delay in providing treatment within the golden hour resulted in the loss of life of the victim due to profuse bleeding. The doctors infused around seven units of bloods but he breathed his last at 2 p.m..
Anwar Ali was a resident of Devaraj Urs Colony in the town and was heading towards his workplace, a tiles shop where he worked as a salesman, in the morning when he was knocked down by a bus and came under its hind wheel. Ali, according to his relatives, was the bread earner for the family of five – mother, a sister and two brothers younger to him. Relatives feel that Ali would have survived had he been provided timely treatment. Riyaz, a close relative of Ali, said, "He would have lived if people had helped instead of watching."
Even though the State government has passed the Karnataka Good Samaritan and Medical Professional (Protection and Regulation during Emergency situations) Bill, 2016, the incident shows that there is little awareness on it. The bill is currently pending with the Governor. Srikant Kattimani, DySP of Koppal, told The Hindu that an awareness campaign would be carried out to educate the people on the need to rush victims to hospitals to save their lives.
