Pregnant woman carried in doli for 5 km due to lack of proper road in Tirupattur
TIRUPATTUR: Due to lack of proper road, a 22-year-old pregnant woman was carried in a doli through the 5-km forest stretch from Nekkanamalai hillock to the nearest hospital, as she got labour pain during the wee hours of Tuesday. Following the incident, residents have requested the authorities to expedite procedures for constructing a motorable road on the hillock.
When Rajeshwari (22), wife of Rajagiri (32), got labour pain at 3 am on Tuesday, her family members had no other choice than to transport her in a doli. After crossing the hillock, she was taken in an auto rickshaw from the foothill to the nearest Vallipattu government hospital, located 4 km away. Within 10 minutes of reaching the hospital, Rajeshwari gave birth to a baby boy.
Rajagiri said, "If we had been delayed a bit, I can't imagine what would have happened. Carrying a pregnant woman in a doli is unacceptable but we were left with no choice. This is not the first time that such an incident had happened in the locality. In 2019, a seriously ill woman had to be transported to the hospital in a doli. The authorities must take immediate steps to address this issue."
Nekkanamalai panchayat comprises six wards, two of those located atop the hillock where 500 people of 167 families reside. The remaining four wards are located in the foothills. The hill residents had always raised concerns, alleging they have to trek at least 5 km to access essential services such as education, ration shops, and medical facilities.
M Munuswamy (46), a resident of Nekkanamalai said, "Around 2019, during the tenure of the AIADMK government, former MLA KC Veeramani, the then district collector, SP, and other officials visited our panchayat on foot and initiated the construction of a mud road. This road was intended to ease the transportation of materials for construction of 125 houses allocated to the villagers. They completed estimation work for road construction and were about to be forwarded to the central government for approval. But when the ruling party changed, everything came to a halt, and no further action was taken."
He added that the mud road was soon washed away in heavy rain. "Now, even two-wheelers find it difficult to access the road and walking is the only option. In each grama sabha meeting, we raise this concern but to no avail," said Munuswamy and urged for a permanent solution for this problem.
According to panchayat vice president Prema G, the response from officials had always been "we are working on it".
Tirupattur Collector D Baskara Pandian told TNIE, “We have submitted an application through the parivesh portal and are currently awaiting forest clearance for this project. Once it is completed, we will proceed with the road construction.