BHUBANESWAR : As cyclone Yaas ripped through Balasore district, a pregnant woman of Balabhadrapur village under Anantapur panchayat - 22 km from Bahanaga panchayat where it landed - went through a storm of sorts to deliver her baby as she had to be carried in a cot amid strong wind and heavy rains to a health facility on Wednesday.
Luckily, the woman Sonali Nath and her newborn braved the cyclone fury and were discharged from Soro CHC on Thursday. Sonali, married to Bhimsenu Nath of Nalaguhira village in Bhadrak district, was visiting her parents at Balabhadrapur village. When the local ASHA and anganwadi workers came to know about her, they requested her to shift to the local health facility in wake of the impending cyclone. But as her expected date of delivery (EDD) was on June 17, she chose to remain at home.
As Yaas made a landfall, she went into labour and her family members tried to contact the local Anantapur PHC, 2 km away, to seek medical help. “We do not know if there were any doctors available in the PHC then but a nurse told us that they would not be able to handle the delivery and asked us to shift her to Soro CHC which is 12 km away” said Sonali’s father Sambhu Nath.
After futile attempts at contacting the 108 and 102 ambulance services, Sonali’s family members with the help of some villagers managed to rent an autorickshaw to take her to Soro CHC. But the vehicle could not reach the village in absence of a motorable road which had already turned slushy due to heavy rains. With Sonali’s condition worsening, they decided to carry her in a cot through Balabhadrapur-Haripur-Chakapada road to the auto which was stationed 1.5 km away.
What made things worse was that the road was cut at different places to prevent the swelling Kansabansa river from entering the village, said Panchayat Samiti (PS) member Jayram Das. Mid-way, Sonali delivered her child. Both mother and her child were taken in the auto to Soro CHC where the umbilical cord was cut by doctors.
Locals, meanwhile, have demanded construction of a concrete road to the village which they say could at least facilitate entry of ambulance to the village in emergency situations. While the village had a pucca road constructed under the MGNREGS, it stands damaged in absence of regular repair and maintenance.
The PS member informed that work on repair of the portions where the road was cut will begin on Friday. The local BDO was not available for comment.