Bad roads led woman deliver in auto-rickshaw

Bhadrachalam: Unable to reach the hospital in time due to bad roads, a tribal woman, Irpa Ramya, of Kurnapalli village, delivered in an auto-rickshaw while crossing the Chintaguppa Vagu in Charla mandal on Sunday. She gave birth to a baby boy after crossing Bodenelli village.

Meanwhile, the staff of 108 Ambulance shifted her to a hospital in Bhadrachalam after crossing the rivulet.

As the auto which was carrying Ramya got stuck in the water, an ambulance was called on. With difficulty, the family members of Ramya managed to cross the waterbody. After first aid, Ramya and her baby was shifted to Bhadrachalam area hospital. The condition of Ramya and her baby is said to be safe. Meanwhile, this is the second such delivery, while another tribal woman of Yerrampadu village gave birth in the forest area earlier.

The two deliveries in Charla mandal show how bad the roads are. Villages like Yerrampadu, Bathinipalli, Bakkachintalapadu, Kondevayi, Kandipadu, Kurkatpadu, Puligundala, Kishtarampadu lack proper roads, causing severe hardships to the residents.

Keeping this in view, the Health staff in Charla and Satyanarayanapuram has been conducting medical camps for the benefit of local residents. However, treatment has been eluding the needy tribals during exigencies. In the absence of any alternative, the residents are shifting the patients in makeshift carriers called, ‘jettis’. With the highway and road network being worst in the Charla agency area, no medical care is reaching the tribals. They find it difficult even to walk. The situation turns worst during the monsoon, as there is hardly any road and the water bodies become full. The agency roads, particularly those adjacent to villages in neighbouring Chhattisgarh are in bad condition.

The agency residents complain that no attention has been paid to them for several decades. A person is sure to die if the condition turns serious, particularly in case of pregnant women and those bitten by snakes. Even though the 108 Ambulances have access, they are not able to reach villages. The Girijans have to spend agonising moments, even as the Charla health staff conducts medical camps in emergency situations.

Pregnant women are the worst sufferers of the poor road network, as they have to put up with labour pains while trying to reach a hospital before delivery. They have to use either a Jetti or a cycle to reach the main road. Anything can happen during the journey.

During this week, a woman of Yerrampadul, Madakam Bindu, experienced severe hardship prior to the delivery. After she developed sudden labour pain, her family members tried to take her to the Satyanarayanapuram hospital. In the absence of a road, they used a Jetti to move her. She delivered en route in the forest. The 108 Ambulance could not reach Yerrampadu in the absence of an approach road. The staff had to treat her on the way.

Many such incidents have occurred in the past, when patients and pregnant women were carried in the Jettis in the absence of roads. As the government has taken up road-laying works in several mandals, the Girijans want expeditious completion of highways and roads in other areas.

Adivasi Sangham leader Sonde Veerayya told The Hans India that the administration was keeping the tribals away from the development process even 70 years after independence. He expressed anguish over absence of roads in the agency areas in this rocket age. Despite the presence of ITDAs, villages were not developed, with health, education and roads eluding the residents, particularly those living in border areas with neighbouring States.