Doctor guides midwife over mobile to ensure safe delivery in flood-hit MP village
Seoni (MP) (PTI): A woman in labour; flooded streets; and a doctor giving step-by-step instructions over a mobile phone to ensure safe delivery.
The scene, reminiscent of one from the blockbuster ‘3 Idiots’, recently played out in Madhya Pradesh’s Seoni district, said health officials on Wednesday.
A lady doctor guided a midwife over a mobile phone after she could not reach a village due to flooded roads amid heavy rains, they said.
“There was a flood-like situation in the Jorawadi village on Monday when a woman, Raveena Uikey, went into labour. Her family decided to take her to the district hospital but could not succeed as the roads were inundated,” the official told PTI.
After being informed about Uikey’s condition, a team of health officials along with district health officer Dr Manisha Sirsam were sent to the village, but found all the approach roads waterlogged, he said.
When it became clear that the team would not be able to reach the village under any circumstances, Dr Sirsam phoned Uikey’s husband and asked him to call a trained midwife from the village to their house, the official said.
Sirsam then asked the midwife, Reshna Vanshkar, to follow her instructions over the phone for conducting the delivery of the “high-risk woman”. The midwife diligently followed them and ensured the safe birth of a pair of healthy twins, he said.
After the water level receded and roads became motorable, the woman and her newborn twins were admitted to the district hospital. “The mother and babies are doing fine,” said the health official.
However, unlike engineering students using a vacuum cleaner to conduct the delivery in the Amir Khan-starrer ‘3 Idiots’, the settings in Seoni were a bit real, quipped the official.
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Karnataka launches India’s first digital grievance system for gig workers
Bengaluru: In a first-of-its-kind initiative in India, the Karnataka government has launched a digital grievance redressal system for gig workers to provide structured support and protection to platform-based workers.
According to The Hindu, the system, developed by the Karnataka Platform-based Gig Workers’ Board in collaboration with the Department of e-Governance, allows workers to file complaints through the Integrated Public Grievance Redressal System (IPGRS).
Gig workers can raise issues related to pay, working conditions, and platform-specific disputes. Complaints will be routed to the Internal Dispute Resolution Committees (IDRCs) of respective platforms and are expected to be resolved within a defined timeframe. This is expected to bring transparency and legal recourse for a workforce that has so far operated without a formal dispute resolution framework.
Under The Karnataka Platform-Based Gig Workers (Social Security and Welfare) Act and Rules, every aggregator platform must constitute an Internal Dispute Resolution Committee (IDRC). Platforms such as Namma Yatri and Yulu have already integrated their IDRC contact details with the government portal.
Around 12 lakh gig workers have been identified in the state, and a unique identification system is being developed to remove duplicate entries. Officials said welfare schemes are also being designed based on type of work, working hours, and contribution.
Labour Minister Santosh Lad said that Karnataka, technology capital of the country, is leveraging this potential for worker welfare as well. “By launching this system, we are ensuring that the gig economy is no longer an informal space, but a structured one where every worker’s voice is heard,” he said.
“The schemes will vary based on the type of platforms. For example, cab rides are mostly undertaken by men whereas urban domestic activity is undertaken mostly by women. It may also be based on the contribution made, and the quantum of gig work done by a gig worker. Some gig workers work for more than eight hours while some may work on a few gigs. So, work load, nature of work, and time period of work could vary,” TH quoted G. Manjunath, Additional Labour Commissioner and CEO of the Board as saying.
“It has to be scientifically structured based on their effort and labour. We are working with experts, including academicians from Briston University, King’s College, and IISc, and other stake holders, including board members,” he said.
Officials added that aggregator platforms will be required to contribute 1 per cent towards worker welfare, with implementation beginning July 5.
