Road gone, woman in labour carried on chair to health centre 30km away | India News – Times of India
DEHRADUN: After landslides and heavy rain wreaked havoc in Chamoli this week, locals of Ban village in Dewal area lost access to the only motorable road they had. So when Kiran Devi, 29, began getting labour pains, a group of men placed her on a plastic chair, hoisted her up on their shoulders and carried her over gorges and mountain-sized debris to a primary health centre.
Though it was all worth it in the end – Kiran delivered a ruddy baby boy late Thursday night – a video of the journey has shocked viewers at the nature and magnitude of the devastation caused in the already fragile landscape.
“The Dewal primary health centre is almost 30km from our village but the heavy downpour over the last two days left us with no road. Over 3km of stretch has now become almost impossible to traverse. The men carrying Kiran had to cross a deep gorge with a river gushing below as they balanced themselves and their load on pipes and tree trunks placed between two point. What choice do we have?” said Khilaf Singh, a local resident. Singh added that the village has not seen “destruction of this scale” in the last 55 years.
Chief medical officer at Chamoli, Dr Rajeev Sharma said, “Thankfully, Kiran as well as her child are both doing well. An Asha worker was with the mother all along.”
Though it was all worth it in the end – Kiran delivered a ruddy baby boy late Thursday night – a video of the journey has shocked viewers at the nature and magnitude of the devastation caused in the already fragile landscape.
“The Dewal primary health centre is almost 30km from our village but the heavy downpour over the last two days left us with no road. Over 3km of stretch has now become almost impossible to traverse. The men carrying Kiran had to cross a deep gorge with a river gushing below as they balanced themselves and their load on pipes and tree trunks placed between two point. What choice do we have?” said Khilaf Singh, a local resident. Singh added that the village has not seen “destruction of this scale” in the last 55 years.
Chief medical officer at Chamoli, Dr Rajeev Sharma said, “Thankfully, Kiran as well as her child are both doing well. An Asha worker was with the mother all along.”
