Pregnant woman forced to walk 6 km to hospital in flood-ravaged MP

In what could be a slap on the face of the civil society, a case of shocking apathy has come to fore, wherein a pregnant woman in Madhya Pradesh was forced to walk six kilometres through a waterlogged area to reach the hospital to deliver her baby.

The incident was reported from the state’s Chhatarpur district, when a family called for a government ambulance, but the hospital said it would take half an hour.

The mother-to-be, named Sandhya Yadav, a resident of Simaria village, had to endure hardship after state government’s Janani Express (ambulance) didn’t reach in the said time.

Sandhya said that she gave birth as soon as she reached the hospital. She also said that this was not the first such incident in her village and that pregnant women have been transported in folding beds to the hospital.

Describing the incident, Asha worker Haribai said, “They called the ambulance. But the person said that they will take 30 minutes to reach. So we took her by auto. The distance from our Asha Centre to the hospital is 12 kilometres. In midway, the auto-rickshaw got stuck. She then went to the hospital by walking.”

“It is a usual thing that takes place in our village. If there is more problem in carrying the pregnant ladies, we take them in folding beds,” she added.

The Janani Express Yojana of the government aims at providing benefit of transportation to all of the expectant mothers for their institutional deliveries.

As per the scheme, the vehicles to be used for transportation of these people would be available at the government hospitals, community health centres, primary health centres or any other suitable places in the respective areas. 

Image: People wade through waist-deep water after the state received heavy rains leading to flooding. Photograph: PTI