RAYAGADA: IN the absence of a motorable road for ambulance to reach, a pregnant woman of Kalyansinghpur block in Rayagada district had to be carried on a stretcher by villagers to a community health centre on Monday.
Anku Miniaka (32) of Talasajja village under the block went into labour in the morning. As the village is surrounded by river Nagavalli, villagers decided to shift her to the community health centre in Kalyansinghpur by shouldering a stretcher carrying Anku and wading through waist deep water of Nagavali. They carried the pregnant woman to the other side of river and from there with the help of a vehicle of mobile health unit, they reached the health centre. She delivered a baby girl in the evening and condition of both the mother and newborn is stable.
However, Collector Guha Punam Tapas Kumar said the woman was carried in an ‘Ama Doli’ stretcher that was earlier provided by the district administration. These stretchers have been provided in inaccessible villages where ambulances cannot reach to carry patients to the nearest health centre.
The Collector said 88 per cent of Rayagada district comes under Kashipur, Chandrapur and Kalyansinghpur blocks where majority of villages lack road connectivity. The district administration has already informed the State Government about it, she said, adding that Rayagada administration and Health Department have identified 880 villages that are not motorable.
“To bring critical patients and pregnant women from these areas, we have provided Ama Doli stretchers in 183 villagers,” she said. District administration will felicitate the people and ASHA worker who brought the woman to the CHC for delivery. Anku’s husband Sadananda, three other youths Sridhar, Rajanta and Syamdhar along with ASHA worker Tikimani Jhodia who is also eight-month pregnant brought the woman to the CHC.Collector added that a bridge would be constructed near Belkana village at a cost of `7.6 crore over river Nagavali.
On Tuesday, a team of officials led by Kalyansinghpur Tehsildar Goura Chandra Patnayak reached the village to inquire into the incident. The expected date of delivery of Anku was on August 27 and she was advised by the local ASHA worker to stay in Maa Gruha whenever she felt pre-term labour.
Woman delivers on verandah
Koraput: Ono Wadeka, a pregnant woman of Podapadar in Narayanpatna block of Koraput district, had to deliver on the verandah of panchayat office as the ambulance did not reach on time, on Tuesday. When Ono went into labour, her husband Bhima Wadeka called 102 ambulance service. However, ambulance service provider informed him that there was no ambulance available at that time in Narayanpatna. Subsequently, an ambulance from Bandhugaon was diverted to Podapadar and Ono and her husband were asked to wait at the panchayat office. However, by the time the ambulance reached, Ono had delivered a baby girl. She was taken to Narayanpatna health centre and condition of the mother and newborn is stable.