Pregnant tribal woman dies on makeshift stretcher in Gujarat, Sparking outcry over road access
Chhota Udepur: In a heartbreaking incident on Tuesday, a pregnant woman from the remote tribal village of Turkheda in Gujarat’s Chhota Udepur district died after giving birth while being carried on a cloth stretcher to reach medical help. Kavita Bhil, who was in labor, died while giving birth to a girl, highlighting the urgent need for road connectivity in the area as the locals battled to get her to a medical institution.
At around 5 a.m., Kavita began experiencing labor contractions. Her husband, Kishan Bhil, along with neighbors from the village of Baskariya Faliya, immediately sprang into action, placing her on a cloth stretcher to carry her over five kilometers of rocky terrain to a pick-up point where an ambulance could arrive. However, only a kilometer into the journey, Kavita went into labor and gave birth. Tragically, she did not survive the delivery. Her body was carried back to the village on the same makeshift stretcher for the final rites. Kishan, a farmer, is now left to care for their newborn daughter and two other children under the age of five. A relative of the family revealed that the newborn is also in critical condition.
The incident has sparked anger and mourning in the village, which lies on the banks of the Narmada River. Villagers say the lack of proper road access has been an ongoing issue, with multiple appeals to the government going unanswered. Jamsinh Rathwa, a relative of Kishan, expressed the community’s frustration with the government’s inaction over the lack of infrastructure. "For years, we have been pleading for a road to access basic health services, but nothing has changed. We are forgotten. If the road had been built, Kavita would still be with us," he lamented.
This tragic event is not an isolated case, as villagers claim that several women have faced similar fates in recent years due to the lack of proper roads. Nagin Rathwa, a local resident, explained that a tender to construct a seven-kilometer road had been issued five years ago, but only three kilometers were completed. He added that, in the absence of the road, villagers are forced to carry patients on cloth stretchers, making it too late during emergencies.
BJP MP Jashu Rathwa acknowledged the tragedy but cited the difficult terrain as a reason for the delay in road construction. “It’s a tragic incident, and we are deeply pained. However, in such remote areas, walking a few kilometers is common. The BJP government is committed to building roads in every corner, but the terrain in this region is challenging. The tender for the road has been issued and will be completed soon,” he said.
SD Goklani, the In-charge District Development Officer of Chhota Udepur, confirmed that a proposal to build the remaining four kilometers of the road has been received, with an estimated cost of ₹11 crore. Goklani mentioned that they had been informed about the tragic death of the woman and that a road proposal was already in place, with construction expected to commence soon.
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Post poll TN alliances divided in supporting TVK
Chennai (PTI): In a changed political atmosphere in Tamil Nadu with no single political party having a simple majority to form the government post the Assembly election, opinion is divided among the allies led by the Dravidian majors in extending external support to Vijay-led TVK in government formation.
Both the DMK and AIADMK are at unease as the Congress and also a section in the AIADMK express willingness to extend external support to Vijay-led Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagtam in forming the government.
Post poll, the TVK's political prospects appear to impact alliances led by both the Dravidian majors in a different manner, triggering a speculation of a split.
Leema Rose Martin, who won from Lalgudi on an AIADMK ticket, has stated that talks were underway on extending support to the TVK. Her son-in-law Aadhav Arjuna, who won from Villivakkam is TVK's general secretary.
On May 5, former AIADMK minister O S Manian, emerging from his meeting with party general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami, stated that AIADMK would not support TVK in forming the government.
The AIADMK, which finished third in the elections with 47 seats has cancelled its meeting of MLAs designate on Wednesday amidst a difference in extending external support to the TVK, which won 108 seats, including two seats by its founder Vijay.
As Vijay is gearing up for his swearing-in on May 7, the police have tightened security at his residence here. The party has lodged its MLA-elect at a resort in Mamallapuram and has simultaneously engaged in talks with the Congress and AIADMK, a source said.
The DMK that won 59 seats on its own, has convened a meeting of its newly elected legislators on May 7 evening and the party is likely to elect the youth wing secretary Udhayanidhi Stalin, who won from Chepauk-Thiruvallikeni as its legislature party leader.
Congress general secretary K C Venugopal admitted that TVK chief Vijay requested the Congress for support to form the government.
"The INC is clear that the mandate in Tamil Nadu is for a secular government, committed to protecting the Constitution in letter and spirit. The INC is determined not to allow the BJP and its proxies to run the government of Tamil Nadu in any manner. Thiru Vijay has also spoken about drawing inspiration from Perunthalaivar Kamaraj," he said.
Accordingly, the Congress leadership has directed the TNCC to take a final decision on Vijay’s request, keeping in view the sentiments of the state as reflected in the electoral verdict, Venugopal said in a statement.
DMK spokesperson Saravanan Annadurai slammed the Congress decision and said the move to ally with TVK, pledging the support of its five MLAs to the party, was tantamount to "backstabbing the DMK and the people of Tamil Nadu."
"They have betrayed the mandate given by the people. Even before the ink on the returning officer’s signature on the victory certificate has dried, they have chosen to go ahead with this alliance," he told PTI.
The most important question was who took this "foolhardy decision, and how is it going to backfire on the Congress?" he asked.
"I don’t think they had any serious deliberation on this. The larger issue is their opposition to the BJP, which is their ideological enemy. We have supported the Congress throughout. It was our leader M K Stalin, who named Rahul Gandhi as the prime ministerial candidate when the BJP and RSS were criticising him. And now, within a day, they say they are supporting TVK. This is not the mandate of the people of Tamil Nadu,” Saravanan said.
The Congress' exit from its long-standing alliance with the DMK will be a significant moment in the political scenario of the state, commentator and political analyst Sumanth Raman said.
The Congress may be betting on the TVK as a long-term partner option, but that comes with risks, as the TVK is as yet an unknown quantity, he said.
"For the DMK, if the TVK+Congress becomes the choice of the minorities as it well could, it is an existential threat. It was the minority vote that gave the DMK alliance a 12%-15% cushion in the polls. If that goes, their chances of winning drops dramatically," Raman said on 'X.'
The Congress won 5 seats. However, DMK's other allies, the IUML, VCK, CPI and CPI (M) and DMDK have categorically stated that they would not support TVK.
As of now, the TVK requires the support of 11 MLAs to attain a simple majority of 118 to form the government.
The PMK, which won 4 seats and AMMK one - both allies of AIADMK - have not announced their decision yet.
"AIADMK’s real post-result drama may not be outside the party, but inside it. Whispers from the west and north suggest that a Coimbatore hand and a Villupuram voice may soon ask the question everyone is avoiding: Is it time to save the party from the leadership, before the cadre are forced to do it themselves? In politics, coups don’t begin with slogans. They begin with silence, phone calls and “review meetings,” Aspire Swaminathan, who is credited with founding the AIADMK IT wing in 2014, said on 'X.'
He has resigned from the AIADMK in 2021 and now acts an as independent political analyst.
