Pregnant woman dies, body carried for 2km as hearse van gets stuck mid-way due to bad road in Odisha

In a bone-chilling incident, family members of a pregnant woman had to carry her body for 2km to conduct the final rites after the hearse van transporting the body got stuck mid-way due to bad road connectivity.

Due to pathetic road conditions, the van could not reach the village, forcing the deceased woman’s family members to carry her body. The heart-wrenching incident has been reported from Nildikia village under Dambuguda gram panchayat of Mohana block in Gajapati district.

According to sources, Mamata Mallick, wife of Balaram Mallick was in the six months of her pregnancy. Family members admitted her to Mohana Community Health Center (CHC) after she developed some complications. However, due to bad road connectivity, she could not be admitted to the hospital on time, further worsening her condition. 

Doctors then referred her to Berhampur-based MKCG Medical College and Hospital. However, she succumbed to her complications in MKCG, reports said. Family members then hired a hearse van to take the body to their village.

However, due to lack of a proper road, the vehicle got stuck mid-way, forcing family members to carry the body to the village for 2 kms.

“Our sister has a four-year-old son. She was now six-month pregnant with another child. However, due to a lack of proper road, we could not take her to the hospital on time after she developed some complications, leading to her death. The lack of a road is the reason for her death. If she could have been admitted to the hospital on time, she would have been alive today,” alleged the village ward member.

He further added that despite repeated pleas with the District Collector and BDO, their request for a proper road has been left neglected.

“She was six-month pregnant. I could not take her to the hospital on time, due to lack of road,” claimed the deceased woman’s husband.