A Shocking Reality Of Gadchiroli: Pregnant Woman Dies After Walking 6 Km In Absence Of Adequate Medical Facilities

Gadchiroli: A pregnant woman and her unborn child died on Friday in a village in Gadchiroli, Maharashtra, due to a lack of medical facilities to support childbirth. This has raised questions about the government's recent development narratives for this region.

24-year-old Asha Santosh Kiranga of Aladandi Tola in Etapalli taluka (Moaist-dominated area) was nine months pregnant. Her native village of Aladandi Tola is remote, and there are no medical facilities available in the village for childbirth.

Hoping to receive timely treatment, Asha decided to walk for nearly 6 km through a forest path with her husband in order to reach her sister's house. However, this arduous journey in the final stages of her pregnancy proved to be fatal for her. Later, she was taken to Kali Ammal Hospital in Headri in an ambulance, where the doctors decided on a cesarean delivery. However, it was too late to save the baby that had died in the womb.

File photo of Asha Santosh Kiranga (Special Arrangement)

Shortly afterwards, Asha Kiranga too died as her blood pressure shot up. The even more distressing aspect of this incident is the delay in conducting her postmortem.

Talking about this incident, Gadchiroli’s District Health Officer Dr Pratap Shinde said, "The woman had been registered through an ASHA (Accredited Social Health Activist) worker. She suffered immense distress because she had walked several kilometres. The doctors made every effort to save her, but they were unsuccessful. A detailed report has been sought from the Taluka Health Officer regarding this matter, and an inquiry will be conducted into the case."

The incident raises a question mark on the claims made on various occasions about making Gadchiroli the 'number one' district in the state and ushering in development. It has brought to light the ground reality in the district. Devendra Fadnavis is also the Guardian Minister of Gadchiroli.

The CM received flak from members of the opposition parties. "Currently, the government is facing criticism from all quarters. The medical facilities and health sector in Gadchiroli district are in poor condition. The CM ought to give Gadchiroli more attention since he is the guardian minister of Gadchiroli," said Congress MLC and group leader Satej Patil.

Meanwhile, the state revenue minister and a prominent leader of the BJP expressed his grief. "This is an extremely regrettable incident. I'll talk to the District Collector about it and get further details," Bawankule stated.

The villages in this region are cut off from mainland Vidarbha as they are in dense forest. Worse still, there is no proper frequency of public transport to take the villagers to the nearest hospital, which is usually not less than at least 10 kilometres away. This reality is harsh compared to the urban and tier two cities across the state.

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