Pregnant tribal woman delivers baby beside road while being carried in a doli to the roadpoint

Notwithstanding the efforts made by the government and officials, the lack of pucca roads to a number of the hilltop hamlets, continues to haunt the tribal people living in the tribal hamlets in Scheduled and non-Scheduled areas in Andhra Pradesh.

A few days ago, 25-year-old Marri Kavya of Jajulabandha of Koyyuru mandal in Alluri Sitharama Raju (ASR) district, who had delivered a baby less than a month earlier, had complained of severe stomach pain late in the night. In the absence of a proper road, Kavya, who belonged to a Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group (PVTG) Kondh, died before she could get medical attention.

Now, 22-year-old Pangi Sai of Losingi, a hilltop village of Rolugunta mandal in Anakapalli district, delivered a baby while she was being carried in a doli, on Sunday (July 13) morning.

The young woman developed labour pains in the early hours of Sunday. Her husband Sundar Rao and other family members carried the woman in a doli as there was no proper road to the village. They had to carry Sai for 4 km to YB Patnam to shift her to the hospital in an ambulance from there. The villagers carried her to YB Patnam road point but before the ambulance arrived, her pain became intense, and the tribal women took her into the roadside bushes under a banyan tree, where she delivered the baby.

Her family member’s said that they had reached the road point by 7 a.m. and alleged negligence on the part of the ambulance staff, who reached the spot around 9 a.m. and the woman had delivered her baby by then. Later, the woman and her newborn baby were taken to the Bucchimpeta PHC in the ambulance.

Anakapalli District Collector had sanctioned ₹2.50 crore for construction of a BT road from YB Patnam to Losingi via Peda Gauruvu in the past. The earthwork was completed and granular sub-base was laid. Later, the work was stopped by the contractor on the plea that the government had not cleared his bills. During the subsequent rains the partially finished road was washed away. The improperly dug up drains added to the problem and the road was completely washed away.

CPI-M district secretariat member K. Govinda Rao said that there were 290 people of 70 families, belonging to the PVTG Kondh tribe, living in Losingi village. He appealed to the government and the officials concerned to complete construction of the road at least now, and spare the tribals such problems.