Tumour patient who begged for euthanasia dies

Kakinada: Tumour patient Patti Rama Lakshmi (38) who sought permission for euthanasia from District Collector Kartikeya Mishra on March 19, died in Hyderabad on Thursday night. The Basavatarakam Indo American Cancer Hospital authorities sent her body to her hometown Pithapuram on Thursday night, and her body reached Pithapuram in the early hours of Friday.

After she had asked the permission for euthanasia at the Prajavani programme, her issue gained the attention of many and gained statewide publicity. The District Collector ordered the NTR Vaidya Seva district coordinator Dr Vara Prasad to render her the best medical service available in the state. 

The husband and other members of her family of Rama Lakshmi alleging that instead of making necessary arrangements for that tumour to be operated, the NTR Vaidya Seva coordinator wasted the valuable time by moving her between Kakinada and Visakhapatnam. They charged Dr Vara Prasad with misleading the Collector in this issue. They alleged they had informed the news of her death to Dr Vara Prasad. 

Instead of helping them and guiding them, Dr Vara Prasad just told them to make their own arrangements and he had no role to play in the issue. The Basavatarakam Hospital doctors made arrangements for shifting her body to Pithapuram, they added.