Thane: Pregnant tribal woman carried in makeshift stretcher due to lack of proper roads

A tribal woman carried in a dholi (makeshift stretcher) due to lack of proper roads after she went into labour gave birth in transit in Shahapur taluka of Maharashtra's Thane district.

On social media, a video showing the woman being carried in the dholi on Sunday has gone viral. In the early morning hours, the woman from Patikacha Pada hamlet was being carried in the dholi by her relatives and some villagers. She gave birth to a girl around noon, a villager and an Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHA) worker said.

The woman and the baby were later taken to the Kasara primary health center (PHC) in a private vehicle. A villager claimed that while taking the woman from their hamlet to the closest PHC, they had to cross streams and traverse rough terrain.

Luckily, an ASHA worker accompanied us and helped in the smooth delivery, he said. The mother and the baby are safe and stable, the health worker said. Locals claimed their village was adopted by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde when he was the guardian minister of Thane district.