Santosh Kumar Gupta (Correspondent)
Bijpur/Sonbhadra-
On Thursday morning, a pregnant woman gave birth in front of the Employee Development Center (EDC) in NTPC Rihand campus due to not getting an ambulance on time. After the incident, serious questions have been raised regarding the health and emergency arrangements of NTPC.
According to the information, Reshma, wife of Arjun, resident of Dodhar, started labor pain at around 9 am on Thursday. The family took him to the NTPC campus in front of the Employee Development Center. As the situation worsened, the family members and people present nearby continuously called for an ambulance, but it is alleged that the ambulance did not reach the spot for about an hour.
Meanwhile, Reshma gave birth to a child in front of the EDC. Seeing the condition of the woman and the newborn, the family members kept pleading for help. After about an hour, the ambulance reached the spot, after which the woman was taken to NTPC Dhanwantri Hospital and admitted.
Family members say that during the incident, many NTPC officials also passed through the same route, but it is alleged that no one took the initiative to stop at the spot to inquire about the condition of the woman or provide immediate medical aid. This has caused resentment among family members and local people.
Questions related to being a Scheduled Caste family also arose
The victim Arjun is a resident of Dodhar and belongs to the Scheduled Caste community. On behalf of the family, it has been alleged that complaints of discrimination against nearby villagers, especially Scheduled Caste families, regarding health services of NTPC have been coming to the fore in the past also. The family alleges that they have faced several problems regarding access to the NTPC premises and hospital facilities.
However, the allegations of discrimination could not be independently confirmed. But this incident has definitely raised questions about the emergency medical system of NTPC.
The biggest question is that when the woman was inside the NTPC campus and the distance to Dhanwantari Hospital is less than one and a half kilometers, then why did the ambulance take an hour to reach? If there were continuous calls from family members, then why was immediate medical help not provided?
The local people have demanded an investigation into the entire matter, the call made to the ambulance and the time it reached the spot and if there has been any negligence at any level, then responsibility should be fixed.