Maharashtra: Pregnant tribal woman taken to hospital in makeshift stretcher

A pregnant tribal woman was taken to a PHC in a makeshift stretcher as her village in Palghar district does not have an approach road.

Palghar: A pregnant tribal woman was taken to a Primary Health Centre (PHC) in a makeshift stretcher on Tuesday as her village in Maharashtra’s Palghar district does not have an approach road.

The stretcher carriers had to wade through neck-deep water as they had to cross a river before reaching the PHC at Nandgaon, five km from Shende Pada hamlet in Kurdol village.

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A video showing the woman, identified as Surekha Lahu Bhagade, being carried in a `jholi’ went viral.
Bhagade, who is seven months pregnant, is undergoing treatment and her condition is stable, said taluka health officer Bhausaheb Chattar who visited the PHC in the afternoon.

The woman complained of labour pains early Tuesday morning. As an ambulance could not reach the village, her family members and local people put together a stretcher by using a blanket and bamboo sticks, and carried her to the PHC on foot, said Mohan Modak, deputy sarpanch of Kurlod.

They have been demanding a bridge on the river for the last several years as the village gets cut off from the outside world when the river is in flood during the monsoon, he said.