32 births and counting: In Imphal, this relief camp is a blessing for pregnant women

“The ceremony would normally have been performed in a grand manner with the entire family. But this time, we are rendered helpless due to the violence,” said Leirang.

Langambi, the second child of 30-year-old Moirangthem Abem, was born on the morning of July 18 at Jawaharlal Nehru Institute of Medical Sciences in Imphal.

Abem, who is originally from Thingkangphai in Churachandpur district, was heavily pregnant when she had to flee her home on the evening of May 3 – the day violence broke out in the state. She was brought to the special relief camp in Imphal, along with three other expecting women in early July.

“I was having dinner when violence erupted in my village. It happened so fast that I could not even wash my hands. We had to hide on a nearby hill for several hours until the Army rescued us,” she said.

After escaping from the village, the family was escorted to a nearby Army camp, before eventually ending up at the relief camp in Bishnupur the next day.

While the rest of her family remained in Bishnupur, Abem’s younger sister went with her to the Imphal facility. The facility allows one person to stay with each pregnant or lactating woman to serve as an attendant.

“My second child is unlucky that she had to make this facility her home. But, I am glad that we are alive to hold the Ipanthaba, even if it is not being conducted in a grand manner,” said Abem.

The facility, which was opened on May 21, has hosted 79 women, who were brought there from different relief camps around the state. It has seen the birth of 32 children – 16 girls and 16 boys.

The state unit of the BJP took the initiative of opening the facility, which then got donations from several quarters. According to R K Nongdrenkhomba, who is in charge of the facility, it was opened taking into account the inconveniences faced by expecting and lactating mothers in relief camps. Nongdrenkhomba said that there are currently 41 women at the facility.

Hemam Rameshwari (34), from Oksongbung in Bishnupur district bordering Churachandpur, is expected to give birth in October. Having come from an area that was particularly hard-hit by the violence, she has spent two months at the relief camp in Moirang Lamkhai in Bishnupur. According to her, the Imphal facility is a “blessing” for pregnant women.

“It was very difficult for me to be in the relief camp (in Moirang Lamkhai). It was crowded, and there was no privacy, not to mention the inconvenience in getting treatment. Here, although conditions may not be the best, we are taken care of properly,” Rameshwari said.

She doesn’t have an attendant at the facility, and her husband and seven-year-old son are still at the Moirang Lamkhai relief camp.

“We get all the necessities at this facility, and I’m spending my time comfortably with the other women here. We get free medicine and treatment. However, as pregnancy is the most difficult phase in a woman’s life, I long for the care and affection of my family,” she said.

Moirangthem Priya, a nurse at the facility, said adequate measures are in place to take care of all the women lodged there. Apart from frequent health check-ups, there is an ambulance and two other vehicles on standby in case of an emergency. Priya has been posted at the facility for more than a month. A gynaecologist and a paediatrician are among the doctors that frequent the facility, which also has two nurses stationed round the clock.