Madhya Pradesh: No motorable road, relatives carry pregnant woman on makeshift stretcher for 8 km

Barwani, July 24

A 20-year-old pregnant woman was carried on a makeshift stretcher for 8 km by her relatives to a hospital due to the lack of a proper road in Madhya Pradesh’s Barwani district.

A video of the incident, which occurred on Thursday, showed some people carrying a stretcher made up of cloth and bamboo sticks with the woman on their shoulders from Khamghat village in the district to Ranikajal. They were later identified as family members of the woman and villagers.

The woman had to be carried for 8 km from Khamghat to Ranikajal, from where she was taken to Pansemal Hospital, located 20 km away, in an ambulance, said Rai Singh, one of the villagers.

“We have been applying for the construction of a road from our village for a long time, but no one had acted on our requests. In the absence of a road, vehicles can’t reach the village, and it is hard to reach a hospital,” Singh claimed.

Speaking to reporters, Dr Arvind Kirade, Block Medical Officer (BMO), Pansemal, said health workers had encouraged the woman’s family to take her to the government hospital.

“However, villagers and family members had to carry her due to the lack of a motorable road from Khamghat to Ranikajal. She is undergoing treatment at Pansemal hospital,” Dr Kirade said.

When asked about the viral video, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), District Panchayat, Rituraj Singh told PTI that he will take up the issue of roads with the concerned department.

“Obtaining a no objection certificate (NOC) from the concerned authorities to construct roads in forest villages is the main problem. I will talk to the concerned department to get a road constructed under the Prime Minister Rural Road Scheme,” the CEO said. — PTI