RAIPUR: Poor condition of roads in Jashpur district claimed the life of a pregnant woman’s baby. It took over two hours for the tribal woman to reach the primary health centre located only 6-7 kilometres away from her home — where she delivered a stillborn baby The woman had to walk over 500 metres to reach the main road, after she had gone into labour, said her family members. This year, due to heavy rainfall, two connecting bridges were washed away further aggravating the problem.A member of the particularly vulnerable tribal group — Pahadi Korwa — the woman, Lilawati of Balajhar village of Pathalgaon in Jashpur district, went into labour on Sunday night. According to the family members, they called the 102 Mehtari Express ambulance helpline but could not connect to the service. The woman walked half way to the main road and was carried half way. "After reaching the mainroad, I somehow sat on my husband’s motorbike. But, the condition of the road was so bad that the bike could not cover much distance. I was in extreme pain and we hired a private vehicle, but it too got stuck twice in the muddy road. We somehow reached the hospital only after 11:30pm," Lilawati was quoted as saying.A resident of the same village, Shailesh Sharma, helped the woman and her family reach the hospital. "The village has turned into an island. The condition is so bad, that even if the ambulance had arrived, it would not have been able to reach her doorstep," he said.Blaming her child’s death on the bad roads, Lilawati said that the health care centre was quick to respond as soon as she reached. They tried everything but could not save the baby, she said. Her husband, Manoj Ram said, "We lost the baby only because of lack of roads. No one pays heed that our village lacks proper connectivity."Assistant medical officer at Tamta primary health centre said that the woman was advised gynae tests as her baby was upside down in her womb, but before she could consult a doctor she went into labour. "If the woman would have reached on time, she would have received proper medical treatment, even referred to a hospital," he said.The chief medical officer RL Tiwari in his report has mentioned that as per the allegations, no call was made to 102 or 108 emergency services and the woman was immediately attended by doctors at primary health centre. He refuted reports of woman walking two kilometres saying that the distance between her house and the main road is about 500 metres.

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