Woman in labour crosses river on boat to reach hospital, delivers twins

Keonjhar: In absence of proper roads, a woman in labour had to cross a river on a boat and then board an ambulance to reach hospital in Telkoi block of Keonjhar district on Sunday.

When Chapala Patra of Sapalanji village started experiencing pain, her family members called an ambulance. But the vehicle couldn't reach up to the other side of the Samakoi river as there are neither bridges nor connecting road to the village. Subsequently, the woman was ferried on a small boat by her family members to cross the river.

"After my daughter-in-law started to feel the pain, we called the ambulance. But it couldn't reach our village due to absence of any means of communication. Therefore, we took her on a small boat to reach the other side of the river," mother-in-law of Chapala said.

Later, Chapala was admitted to Telkoi Community Health Centre where she gave birth to twins - a baby boy and a baby girl.

"This is not the first such case. There were many such instances earlier when expectant mothers had to cross the river on boats," Asha worker Pushpa Patra said.