RAYAGADA: A Day after a pregnant woman was carried on a stretcher to health centre for delivery in the absence of motorable road, another such incident was reported in Rayagada district on Tuesday. A pregnant woman of Barjakhal village in Kodipari panchayat under Kashipur block was carried to the Kashipur community health centre (CHC) on an ‘Ama Doli’ stretcher.
Chapai Majhi, wife of Suala Majhi, went into labour on Tuesday morning. The village has no motorable road as a result of which, the 108 ambulance could not reach to take her to the CHC. Her husband and other villagers decided to shift her to the health centre by tying the stretcher carrying Chapai to a bamboo pole and shouldering it. They carried the pregnant woman for a distance of 10 kms till Jogiparitunda and from there with the help of an ambulance of Utkal Alumina, villagers reached the Kashipur CHC. She delivered a baby boy in the evening and condition of both the mother and newborn is stable.
Road connectivity is a major issue in many remote villages of the district as a result of which, they fail to avail ambulance service and other healthcare facilities during emergency. Villagers are prone to diseases like malaria, anthrax, measles and fail to get medical help on time due to the inaccessible terrain. Surprisingly, the district administration has done nothing so far to address the issue.
A villager of Barjakhal Rajendra Naik said a panchayat road was constructed five years back but due to use of substandard materials in construction, the road was damaged within a year. Like Barhakhal, the 102 and 108 ambulances cannot reach villages like Silapas, Kalia Cahnchada, Vejapadar, Rayalghati, Kutraguda, Chilipadar, Odajhola under Kodipari panchayat in the absence of roads. Rayagada administration and Health Department have identified 880 villages that are not motorable. To bring critical patients and pregnant women from these areas, the administration has provided Ama Doli stretchers in 183 villagers.