BHAWANIPATNA: A pregnant woman of Kalahandi district reportedly gave birth on a tractor while being taken to board an ambulance waiting at a distance due to absence of a motorable road to her village.
The incident was reported on Sunday night in the inaccessible Dabrighati village under Amlabhata panchayat of Jaipatna block.
Sources said Urmila Majhi, a pregnant woman of the village, went into labour late in the night on Sunday. Her family members contacted the ambulance service for assistance. However, as there is no motorable road leading to Dabrighati, the ambulance could not reach the village and had to wait at Chataraguda located at a distance of about 10 km.
With no other option, family members and villagers placed Urmila on a tractor to transport her to the ambulance. But midway through the arduous journey, the woman gave birth to a baby girl on the tractor.
Subsequently, both the mother and the newborn were taken to the nearby Maidalpur primary health centre in Nabarangpur district in the ambulance. As Urmila was suffering from anaemia and malaria, she and her baby daughter were later shifted to Nabarangpur district headquarters hospital (DHH) for advanced treatment.
Dabrighati belongs to Kalahandi district and is one of the villages situated along the Nabarangpur border. Those residing in the border areas are dependent on neighbouring Nabarangpur for healthcare services.