Karnataka: Pregnant Woman Carried on Shoulder Pole for 8 km Through Dense Forest to Reach Hospital

Due to the lack of basic transport facilities, a pregnant woman in Karnataka’s Chamarajanagar district was carried on a pole held by villagers who trekked 8 kilometers to reach a nearby medical facility. The locals, who started trekking in the dense forest at 2 am, took four hours to reach the hospital.

These are everyday scenes for the villagers in Mahadeshwara Hills. For many years, villagers have been compelled to carry pregnant women on shoulder poles for medical facilities, and children too are forced to walk through the jungle to reach schools.

Shantala, who experienced labor pain, needed immediate medical assistance in the wee hours of Thursday. The locals then tried contacting the forest department who had earlier promised the villagers of a vehicle facility through their special drive at any time for pregnant women and school students.

But when it mattered, the department was missing, villagers accused that when they tried calling the forest department officials multiple times but they switched their phones off. With no option left, they had to get back to their old method of carrying the pregnant woman on a shoulder pole to reach the hospital. The locals carried the woman from Doddane to Sulwadi Primary Health Center at 2 am and reached at 6 am.

The forest department officials in Chamarajanagar along with the district administration launched a special initiative titled ‘Jana Vana Sethu’ a few weeks ago and had pledged to provide vehicles for pregnant women and children to transport to schools. The drive was initiated at a cost of Rs 55 lakh to provide four vehicles for around 11 villages around the Mahadeshwara Hills for travel purposes.

Villagers residing in Mahadeshwara Hills lack transport facilities and walk through the jungle every time risking their lives to animal attacks. Residents also approached politicians many times and requested them to provide them with road facilities but politicians have turned deaf ears to their requests.

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