Shocking! Villagers carried pregnant woman 12 km on a cot in Kalahandi

Bhubaneswar, Aug 22: Incessant and heavy rainfall has caused floods in several districts of Odisha and killed eight people till now. Odisha's Kalahandi, Boudh, Bolangir, Subranapur and Kandhamal districts are inundated and the downpour there is expected to continue. Amid this, a shocking image of Odisha's Kalahandi district shows the plight of the people living there.

In absence of proper road connectivity, the locals of Nehala village carried a pregnant woman on a cot for at least 12 km, through Jelingadhora river up to Kaniguma Gram in order to avail the facility of an ambulance, as there was no proper road.

The incident occurred on August 21 in Thaumal Rampur village, where the 23-year-old, Saibani Goud was in need of medical aid during her labor pain. Soon after, an Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHA) worker informed the local health centre to send an ambulance. Unfortunately, due to poor road connectivity and lack of suspension bridge over Jelingadora River, the ambulance was unable to reach the location.

Hence, the villagers had to carry Saibani on a cot, wading through the Jelingadhora River, till Kaniguma, which is 12 kilometers away from Nehela village.

Thaumul Rampur is a tribal and neglected block of Kalahandi district. Villagers here face these problems almost every year during rainy seasons.

Kalahandi district, which has a population of about 16.5 lakh in its 13 blocks, has only eight ambulances. But the rain has brought so much distress to people, hence, they had to carry the woman to the hospital on a cot an ambulance couldn't reach their village.

Reportedly, the state recorded an average rainfall of 66 mm on August 13, two blocks in Kalahandi and Bolangir districts got 400 mm rain in the same duration. Four other blocks in these districts received 300-400 mm rainfall. Karlamunda in Kalahandi district got the highest rainfall in the state - 608 mm.

"Villagers' condition is miserable. Lack of clean water is a major concern as it increases the risk of catching diseases," said Pabitra Majhi of Belakhemandi in Kalahandi district.

Villagers are taking shelter in schools, cyclone shelters, river embankments and other higher places. "The whole village is flooded. We are suffering a lot and we have no food as our houses are under water. We are enduring very painful days," said Ajaya Majhi of Ringa village in the state.