Tribal woman death: With no road to the village, pregnant woman carried in ‘cloth stretcher’ dies on way to ambulance after delivering baby

As Kishan remained inconsolable, his relative Jamsinh Rathwa said, “For several years, we have been requesting the government to construct a road in the village so that it is easier to access the first ambulance service.”

“But there has been no development. There is no health facility available nearby, and even the power supply is erratic. Since we are located in a remote village, we are forgotten and not considered as humans. Had the road been constructed, we would not have lost a family member,” he added.

This was Kavita’s third pregnancy. Apart from her husband, who is a farmer, and a newborn, she is survived by two other children who are under five years of age, her family said. Kishan wanted to take Kavita to the public health centre in Kawant, about 25 km away. A relative said that the condition of the newborn is also critical.

The incident has left the village, located on the banks of Narmada river in Chhota Udepur, in deep mourning and also agitated about the delay in constructing the road that could ensure health services to arrive at the doorstep of locals.

Villagers say that this is not the first case. Nagin Rathwa, a resident of the village, said, “It has been five years since the first tender was issued by the administration to construct the road. But out of the approximately seven kilometers, they have constructed only three kilometers of the road… We have to carry patients in makeshift cloth stretchers in order to reach the point where an ambulance can arrive. In case of such emergencies, there is no time and the walk is precarious. Three other women, before Kavita, also met a similar fate. This incident has shaken us. We are angry…”

When contacted, BJP MP Jashu Rathwa said that even as the state government, led by his party, aimed to “lay carpeted roads in every corner”, it was not possible in challenging terrains like Turkheda.

“The incident is tragic and we are indeed pained by the news… However, in remote areas of the tribal district in my constituency, walking about three or four kilometers is a usual. It is not to say that the roads should not be built… The BJP government is committed to laying carpeted roads in every corner but these terrains are challenging as the villages are scattered and in mountainous areas. However, I have checked and there is a tender in place for this particular faliya (lane) in the village from where the family had to walk with her on the cloth stretcher and it will be constructed shortly,” he told The Indian Express.

SD Goklani, In-charge District Development Officer of Chhota Udepur, said that the government had received a proposal to construct the seven kilometer-road. “We received information that a woman from the Baskariya Faliya of Turkheda village died on the way after developing labour pain… The village is located in a hilly terrain and there a proposal has been received to construct a 7 kilometer road at a cost of Rs 11 crore… The work on it is expected to begin soon,” he added.