Woman carried 8 km on sling for delivery in Andhra Pradesh

She was then taken to the Primary Health Centre at KJ Puram for delivery. Following incessant rains, the mud road has become unmotorable.    
A pregnant woman being carried on a sling in Visakha agency on Sunday I Express
A pregnant woman being carried on a sling in Visakha agency on Sunday I Express

VISAKHAPATNAM: Due to lack of a motorable road for an 108 ambulance to reach Kothavalasa,  a pregnant woman had to be carried on a sling for 8 km from the tribal hamlet to Sankaram village in V Madugula mandal on July 21. 

 She was then taken to the for delivery. Following incessant rains, the mud road has become unmotorable.    When Janapareddi Devi (30) went into labour, her husband Nooka Raju was tense and clueless as to how to shift her to hospital in such a critical state.  

“We finally carried Devi on a sling for 8 km. From there she was taken to the PHC at KJ Puram where she gave birth to a baby girl. Had there been delay by a couple of hours in shifting her to the PHC, both the mother and baby would have been in danger,” Nooka Raju said.

Poor road infra in agency mandals
There are no motorable roads to many hamlets in V Madugula mandal. Several other mandals like Chintapalle, Munchingput, Hukumpeta,  Dumbriguda, Paderu and Araku in agency do not have proper road connectivity, causing severe hardship to tribals 

Soon after the incident, V Madugula MPDO Poli Naidu visited the PHC as per the directive of District Collector V Vinay Chand. The MPDO said, “An Asha worker who visited Devi, advised her to get admitted to hospital at least three days before the estimated date of delivery. However, her family did not admit Devi to hospital till she went into labour due to lack of proper awareness.”     
Expressing concern over the incident, Paderu MLA K Bhagyalakshmi said steps would be taken to ensure that such  incidents do not recur in the future. 

People of Kothavalasa say their hamlet becomes inaccessible if it rains heavily. With around 30 hamlets, V Madugula mandal does not have proper road connectivity. There are no motorable roads to many hamlets. Tribals are finding it increasingly difficult to go to hospital in case of a medical emergency. Similar incidents were reported in the agency area earlier. Apart from V Madugula, other mandals like Chintapalle, Araku, Munchingput, Paderu, Hukumpeta and Dumbriguda do not have proper road connectivity. There are 3,636 tribal habitats in Visakhapatnam Agency with around 6.8 lakh population. The Department of Health, Medical and Family Welfare has introduced 42 feeder ambulances in the agency area. It has also started admitting pregnant women to hospital well before the estimated due date. 

“We advise pregnant women living in interior areas and remote hamlets to get themselves admitted to hospital 2-3 days before the estimated due date. But some of them do not follow our advice, which results in this kind of incidents,” said a doctor.  Speaking to TNIE, DMHO Tirupathi Rao said, “There are 41,108 ambulances and 42 feeder ambulances in the agency to ensure safe delivery of pregnant women. We have taken several measures to promote institutional deliveries. It takes time to bring about a complete change in the attitude of tribals towards institutional deliveries.”

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