AHMEDABAD: A 35-year-old pregnant woman from Chhota Udepur, Gujarat, died after being carried for 5 km in a cloth sling due to the absence of roads in her village.
Despite a High Court order last year following a similar tragedy, many tribal hamlets remain cut off, forcing families to trek for miles with critically ill patients, exposing the region’s grim reality of underdevelopment even after 78 years of independence.
Chhota Udepur’s tribal belt has once again witnessed a heart-wrenching tragedy, exposing the dark truth of development gaps in Gujarat. The pregnant woman from Khaidi Phalia of Turkheda village died on Monday after her family was forced to carry her in a cloth sling for five kilometers, as no vehicle could reach their hamlet due to the absence of roads.
The woman went into severe labor pains around 4 pm. With no motorable road connecting Khaidi Phalia to nearby Savda Phalia, her family had no choice but to hoist her on their shoulders and trek through rough terrain. After an agonizing journey, they reached a point where a 108 ambulance could pick her up. She was first rushed to Kwant, then to Chhota Udepur, but tragically died en route. The baby girl survived, but the mother left behind four young daughters, making this her fifth delivery.
This is not an isolated incident. Almost a year ago, on October 1, another pregnant woman, Kavita Bhil of Baskaria Phalia, was carried in a similar sling but died minutes after giving birth on the way, leaving her newborn without a mother’s care. That tragedy had sparked suo moto action by the Gujarat High Court, which approved roads for four phalias of Turkheda. Yet, Khaidi and Tetarkundi Phalia remain deprived of basic road connectivity, forcing residents to live in constant fear during medical emergencies.
Turkheda village, ironically dubbed the “Ooty of Chhota Udepur” for its scenic location at the tri-junction of Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, and Maharashtra, continues to languish without internal roads even after 78 years of independence. When illness strikes, villagers are left with no option but to carry patients in makeshift slings for several kilometers, risking lives with every step.
Over the past year, Chhota Udepur has witnessed a disturbing chain of tragedies, with pregnant women repeatedly forced to trek miles in makeshift slings due to the absence of roads. From October 2024 to July 2025, multiple women from villages like Manukla, Khenda, Dukta, Jarkhali, Bhundmaria, and Padwani endured harrowing journeys — some carried 3 km through rough terrain, others delivering midway or at home. In one case, a new mother was even forced to walk back home with her newborn, underscoring the unrelenting crisis of lack of roads in the region.
These recurring tragedies paint a stark picture: development has bypassed Chhota Udepur’s interiors, leaving entire communities to fight for survival with primitive methods. Despite repeated court directives and government promises, the lack of roads continues to claim innocent lives, with villagers demanding urgent action before another life is lost in transit.