Incident brings to fore lack of basic infrastructure on the fringes of Nagarahole

Mysore/Mysuru: In yet another case of expecting mothers living on the fringes of Nagarahole Tiger Reserve finding it difficult to access the nearest healthcare facilities, a pregnant woman in deep labour pain had to walk a distance of 1.5 kilometres barefoot before boarding an ambulance.

The incident, which occurred at Bommalapura Haadi near Boodanooru village in H.D. Kote taluk of Mysuru district on Friday, has highlighted the absolute lack of basic infrastructure and road connectivity in tribal-dominated areas on the fringes of the Tiger Reserve.

The pregnant woman, identified as Ranjitha, in her early 20s, experienced labour pain and the family members of the woman immediately called up Mangala, an ASHA (Accredited Social Health Activist) worker who is stationed in the village. For any health issue, Mangala is a single-point of contact in the village.

On her part, Mangala alerted the ambulance driver attached to Vivekananda Memorial Hospital who rushed to the spot to bring the woman to a hospital.

The 102 ambulance, which arrived on time, however had to remain stationed outside the village in the absence of a motorable road to the village.

Though experienced in driving his vehicle on small motorable roads, the pathetic condition of the uneven road connecting Bommalapura Haadi challenged the driver who preferred not to take the risk of traveling on the road to bring the woman to the healthcare facility.

Mangala told Ranjitha’s family members about the ambulance and with no other options left, the woman had to walk a distance of 1.5 kms on a muddy road to reach the ambulance. While ASHA worker Mangala spread out an umbrella to protect a bare-footed Ranjitha from hot sun and dehydration, a few women from the family walked along with her with a bag.

Fortunately Ranjitha and her family reached the ambulance safely. She was rushed to the hospital where she delivered a baby.

H.D. Kote Taluk Health Officer (THO) Dr. Ravi Kumar said that both the mother and baby were healthy.

Apart from pregnant women, even the elderly tribals are facing day-to-day difficulty in reaching the healthcare centres if their health condition worsens. School children too need to walk long distances to reach their schools amidst the threat of wild animals.

Tribals of the Bommalapura Haadi said that earlier, ambulances landed next to the tribal hamlet and it was easy to transport the sick and pregnant women. The condition of the road is so bad now that no vehicle comes on the stretch. The tribals were told that a proper road with asphalt would be laid to the Haadi but the Forest Department rejected the proposal as there is no provision in the Wildlife Act to build a pucca road in this vicinity.