No road access to village, tribal woman delivers on road
By : Aruna
Update: 2024-04-09 05:37 GMT
Visakhapatnam: A woman from the hilltop tribal village of Kodu had to give birth to a baby girl on the road, since she could not be taken to a nearby hospital in the absence of a proper road. On Monday morning, around 4 am, 28-year-old Vasantha felt labour pains during her full-term pregnancy and her husband Bhaskara Rao contacted the emergency services. A 108 ambulance was dispatched at around 6 am, but it had to stop one kilometre away from the village since there was no road.
Some of the Asha workers, who joined to help out the woman in labour pain along with the village women, tried to carry her to the ambulance. However, before reaching the ambulance, the pain increased and Vasantha gave birth to her third child on the road. Post-delivery, since she was bleeding profusely, Vasantha was taken to Upper Primary Hospital in Hukumpeta mandal after the 108 team gave medical assistance on the spot.
Kodu falls in Peddakota panchayat of Ananthagiri mandal in Alluri Sitarama Raju district. It has a population of 120 people, with 22 families residing there. A former sub-sarpanch, Kilo Nageswara Rao, told Deccan Chronicle that there was no progress in the Mission Connect programme and the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), despite records showing crores of rupees have been spent on the projects. He blamed it on the political leaders who make promises during elections but fail to follow up.
He added that in 2017, a road was granted to the village through the MGNREGA, and funds were allocated. However, work only began in 2023 and subsequently stopped midway.
Villagers have reported that the situation is due to inadequate monitoring of road works by higher-level officials. The villagers demanded that the Integrated Tribal Development Agency take immediate action to address the situation.
Some of the Asha workers, who joined to help out the woman in labour pain along with the village women, tried to carry her to the ambulance. However, before reaching the ambulance, the pain increased and Vasantha gave birth to her third child on the road. Post-delivery, since she was bleeding profusely, Vasantha was taken to Upper Primary Hospital in Hukumpeta mandal after the 108 team gave medical assistance on the spot.
Kodu falls in Peddakota panchayat of Ananthagiri mandal in Alluri Sitarama Raju district. It has a population of 120 people, with 22 families residing there. A former sub-sarpanch, Kilo Nageswara Rao, told Deccan Chronicle that there was no progress in the Mission Connect programme and the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), despite records showing crores of rupees have been spent on the projects. He blamed it on the political leaders who make promises during elections but fail to follow up.
He added that in 2017, a road was granted to the village through the MGNREGA, and funds were allocated. However, work only began in 2023 and subsequently stopped midway.
Villagers have reported that the situation is due to inadequate monitoring of road works by higher-level officials. The villagers demanded that the Integrated Tribal Development Agency take immediate action to address the situation.