Uttarakhand landslide: Woman in labour carried on shoulders to nearest clinic 30 kms away

Inadequate and far-off healthcare facilities become all the more remote for women to access during natural calamities.

In Dehradun’s already fragile Chamoli District, incessant rain followed by a landslide has devastated public infrastructure, making it harder for people in remote areas from accessing even basic health care. The only motorable road from Ban Village in Dewal Block was washed away, and Kiran Devi, 29, who got her labour pains amid the chaos had to be carried by locals for 30 kms before they could reach the nearest primary health care center.

They placed her on a chair, propped her up on their shoulders, and carried the ailing woman over ravines, boulders and debris. Their collective efforts helped Kiran deliver a healthy baby boy, later in the night on Thursday. 

“The Dewal Primary healthcare centre is almost 30 kms from our village, but the heavy downpour over the last two days left us with no road. Almost 3 kms of the stretch has now become 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 connecting two points. What other choice do we have?” Khalif Singh, a local resident, said to the Times of India. He also added that their village has not witnessed anything of this scale in the last 55 years. 

The Chief medical officer at Chamoli, Dr Rajiv Sharma told the publication “Thankfully, Kiran and her child are doing well. An Asha worker was with the mother all along.”