Sans roads, expectant mother carried on cot yet again!

Kalahandi: Once again making a mockery of healthcare system in the rural areas, a pregnant woman was carried on cot in Benagaon Gram Panchayat here as ambulance couldn't reach her due to absence of motorable road.

Manjula, a resident of Litibandei village complained of labour pain on Saturday. Soon, the local Asha worker and her family members called for an ambulance.

But even after waiting for hours, as ambulance did not arrive they were forced to carry Manjula in a cot tied to a bamboo pole to reach Lanjigarh junction.

Later she was shifted to the Lanjigarh Government Hospital after an ambulance picked her up from the junction.

“The woman was brought to the hospital after they reached Lanjigarh main road. The exact case would be ascertained only after information from the Asha and ANM workers. Heavy rains have damaged roads in the interior areas making it difficult for ambulance access,” Kalahandi CDMO Jagulal Agarwal said.

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“We are trying to provide all facilities from stretcher to ambulance in cut off areas. I hope all the areas would be covered very soon,” added Agarwal.

In a similar incident last month, a pregnant woman from Trilochanpur was carried for 16 kms on a stretcher to reach a hospital in Lanjigarh.