Kumar Siddhartha, Pune
Kavita Bhil, a pregnant woman from Baskariya Faliya, a remote tribal village in Turkheda Chhota Udepur district, began labor contractions at 5.00 am on Tuesday. She had no road access and neighbors had to carry her on a cloth stretcher over five kilometers to a point where an ambulance could take her to the primary health center, which was 25 kilometers away.
But within a kilometer, Kavita went into labor and delivered a baby girl but died hours after the delivery. Her dead body was brought back home on the same cloth stretcher for final rites. Her distraught husband, Kishan Bhil, and his family are now left to care for the newborn and two more children under five.
The relatives and villagers vented frustration over the lack of infrastructural development, in particular, the road that could connect to their village. His relative Jamsinh Rathwa noted that for decades, the people in the community asked the government to build a road that would have helped them access emergency services. Rathwa said because of the bad situation of the roads they lost a family member.
Grieving the death of Kavita, the villagers on the banks of the Narmada River are more worked up over the undue delay in the road construction process. Villagers say this is not the first incident, it has happened in the past. Nagin Rathwa, another resident, said three other women have died under similar circumstances owing to the tardy medical treatment. Though a tender was issued five years back to construct this seven-kilometer road, only three kilometers have been completed so far. To reach the ambulance the villagers still have to carry patients on hand made bamboo stretchers.
BJP MP Jashu Rathwa acknowledged the tragedy but said, “Construction of roads in such problematic terrains is difficult.” He assured that a tender is in place for road construction and the work would begin soon. SD Goklani, In-charge District Development Officer of Chhota Udepur confirmed that a proposal for the seven-kilometer road, at a cost of Rs 11 crore, had been received, and the work is expected to commence soon.
This tragic incident has caused an uproar for upgrading infrastructure in tribal villages so that at least a basic health service is accessible.