A pregnant woman in Rayagada district’s Kashipur block had to be carried on a stretcher for nearly a kilometre over rugged terrain after an ambulance failed to reach her village due to the lack of motorable roads.
The incident was reported from Goudasahi in Sarambai village under the Shunger panchayat. Bimala Gouda, wife of Sunadhar Gouda, experienced sudden labour pains on Tuesday, prompting her family to immediately dial the 108 emergency ambulance service.
However, because the village lacks a proper all-weather road, the ambulance was forced to halt about a kilometre away. Before the emergency medical technicians could reach the village with a stretcher on foot, Bimala delivered a baby at home.
Following the delivery, both the mother and the newborn required urgent medical attention. Displaying immense grit, the ambulance personnel, alongside family members, placed the mother and child on a stretcher and navigated roughly one kilometre of hazardous, unpaved katcha path to reach the waiting vehicle.
They were swiftly rushed to the Kashipur Community Health Centre (CHC). According to hospital sources, both the mother and the infant are currently in stable condition after receiving immediate medical care.
Locals have expressed deep anguish, alleging that despite repeated appeals to the administration for years to construct a proper road to the village, their pleas have fallen on deaf ears. The harrowing episode has once again exposed the grim reality of poor connectivity and inadequate basic amenities in Odisha’s remote pockets, leaving residents stranded during medical emergencies.
