Helpless rickshaw puller pedals 9 hours straight to take sick daughter to hospital

A rickshaw puller drove his rickshaw for about 9 hours straight and covered a distance of 110 kilometres to take his 7-month-old child to the hospital.

The unfortunate incident occurred on Saturday when a rickshaw puller named Mohammad Tareq Islam, due to lack of money, could not rent an ambulance for his sick child and drove his rickshaw from his home in Thakurgaon to Rangpur Medical College for his daughter's treatment, reports the Daily Star.

In an interview with the national daily, Tareq said that his 7-month-old daughter Jannat was admitted to Thakurgaon Sadar Hospital on 13 April as she was suffering from bloody diarrhoea. The hospital authorities then referred her to Rangpur Medical College Hospital as the baby's condition did not improve and rather worsened the day after admission.

Tareq said, "During the next few days, I tried my best to rent an ambulance to take my daughter to Rangpur Medical College. However, ambulance drivers would not take the trip below 3500-4000 taka which is a lot for a rickshaw puller like me."

As inter-district bus services are closed during the lockdown, Tareq and his family decided on Saturday to take their child to Rangpur Medical College by his rickshaw.

Tareq left his home near Thakurgaon Police Lines around 8 am on Saturday on his battery-powered rickshaw. However, after reaching Taraganj upazila of Rangpur, his rickshaw broke down.

Then, a local easy bike driver helped him cover a distance of 10 km.

After pedalling for another 7 km, Tareq finally reached his destination Rangpur Medical College Hospital.

Reminiscing the incident, Tareq said, "We just thought that this path will not end." 

During the time of travel, his wife and mother-in-law were with the child on the rickshaw.

The girl's condition was getting worse all throughout the journey, Tareq said.

After the 9 hours long anxious journey, Tareq was finally able to admit his child to the hospital after 4 pm on Saturday.

"A lot of the money reserved for my daughter's treatment would have been wasted if I had taken the ambulance. How would I pay for my daughter's treatment if I had wasted the money?" said this helpless father.

Jannat is currently undergoing treatment at the children's ward of Rangpur Medical College. He said that her condition improved a little on Sunday.

Tareq said that he has been driving rickshaws for the last 12 years and he has two more children at home.