Pregnant woman dies as poor road connectivity delays admission in hospital in Odisha’s Kandhamal

In a heart-wrenching incident, an expecting mother died of labour pain and excess bleeding as she could not be admitted to a hospital on time allegedly due to a lack of proper road connectivity. The tragic incident has been reported from a tribal hamlet Malauguda of Gumurmaha panchayat of Kotagarh block in Odisha’s Kandhamal district.

While the Odisha government is spending crores of rupees in the development of urban areas, rural areas across the state are still deprived of basic amenities. The unfortunate death of the pregnant woman and her ‘expecting’ newborn is a glaring example of how rural areas are being pushed to the dark age with no development.

As per reports, family members of Kanti Sukamajhi contacted an ambulance after she experienced severe labour pain.
However, due to the lack of a motorable road, the ambulance halted at a distance while the family members had to carry Kanti on a sling to reach the ambulance. From there, she was immediately taken to the Kotagarh Community Health Centre (CHC).

Instead of immediate treatment, doctors at Kotagarh CHC referred her to Baliguda Sub-Divisional Hospital (SDH) after her condition continued to deteriorate. Unfortunately, Kanti breathed her last inside the ambulance near Tumudibandh while being taken to Baliguda.

Heartbroken family members of Kanti have now filed a complaint at Kotagarh police station in this regard. They have demanded justice for the deceased woman and her lost newborn.

“All those responsible for the untimely death of both the mother and her expecting newborn should be taken to task. Strict action should be taken against everyone responsible in this regard. This is such a tragic and heartbreaking incident,” said Kotagarh Zilla Parishad member, Jirimaya Sunamajhi.