In a village of Madhya Pradesh's Sidhi district, a tribal woman, Preeti Rawat, gave birth not in a hospital bed but in an ambulance parked two kilometres away because there is no road to her village. This isn't just a story of one woman's struggle; it's the stark reality of a state that claims development but delivers despair.
Preeti, in her final stage of labour, was carried in a makeshift 'doli' - a cot strung together with ropes and poles through slippery terrain during monsoon. The ambulance couldn't navigate the muddy, broken path, so it waited on the main road. Before she could be taken to the hospital, Preeti delivered her baby right there in the ambulance. Thankfully, both mother and child survived and are stable at Semriya Hospital.
Her village, Barigwan, is home to around 70 people, most of them tribals, whose lives get harder every monsoon. With no access roads, villagers wade through rivers and mud to reach schools, health centres, and markets. Children risk their lives daily to study. And when emergencies strike, like childbirth, survival hangs by a thread.
The Chief Medical and Health Officer, Dr Babita Khare, admitted that the ambulance arrived on time but couldn't enter the village due to a lack of road connectivity. Social worker Prabhat Verma called it "deeply shameful," pointing out that the mother and child could have died if the family hadn't acted swiftly.
This isn't an isolated incident. Sidhi district has been repeatedly in the news for its terrible roads. Just weeks ago, eight pregnant women from different villages led a protest demanding road access. The protest, spearheaded by Bagheli content creator and activist Leela Sahu, drew national attention, especially after BJP MP Dr Rajesh Mishra dismissed the protest with a cold comment: "Every delivery has an expected date, we'll get them picked up a week before." His words sparked outrage, but little changed on the ground.
Leela Sahu, now herself 9 months pregnant, posted a fresh video from her village Khaddi Khurd just three days ago, "MP ji, you said you'll pick us up, so please do. Send the helicopter now."
PWD Minister Rakesh Singh, reacting to the growing online outrage, responded with similar indifference: "If someone puts a post on social media, should we arrive with a dumper or a cement plant? That's not how it works."
