Thuamul Rampur: A pregnant tribal woman in Odisha’s Kalahandi district had to be carried on a cot for nearly one kilometre after an ambulance failed to reach her village due to lack of a motorable road, sources said Sunday.
The incident took place at Pergunipada, a tribal hamlet under Gopinathpur gram panchayat, where Amita Majhi, wife of Lalit Majhi, went into labour. Her family first contacted the 108 ambulance service and the 102 ‘Janani Express’, but allegedly “could not get a vehicle”. They later arranged a CSR ambulance operated by a private company, the sources added.
Residents alleged that heaps of metal and construction materials left on the road during ongoing work had blocked vehicular movement. With no other option, family members carried the pregnant woman on a cot for more than a kilometre to reach the ambulance. She was then taken to the Thuamul Rampur Community Health Centre for treatment.
The woman’s family members said poor road connectivity has remained a long-standing problem in the area. They alleged that “despite mining operations in the region and road projects funded through the District Mineral Foundation (DMF), the approach road remains incomplete, preventing ambulances and other vehicles from reaching the village”.
Residents claimed that although substantial funds have been “sanctioned” for road development, crucial stretches through the hilly terrain “have not been completed”, leaving several mining-affected villages without all-weather road access. They demanded immediate completion of the road to ensure timely access to healthcare and other essential services.
The incident comes just days after another pregnant woman in Ghutiguda village under the same block was forced to deliver at home after an ambulance failed to reach her because of a muddy road. The repeated incidents have raised fresh concerns over healthcare access and infrastructure in the remote pockets of Kalahandi.
