No road, ambulance delay force tribal pregnant woman to walk 2 km in labour

A pregnant woman was carried nearly two kilometres on a makeshift stretcher after an ambulance could not reach her remote village due to the absence of a proper road in the Alluri Sitarama Raju district.

The incident took place in Vedurogoyyi village, a hilltop settlement under Bongaram panchayat. On Sunday morning, Chikkudu Seemali, who was in the final stage of pregnancy, went into labour at her home.

Her family immediately sought help. An ASHA worker contacted the 108-ambulance service, but the vehicle could not enter the village because the terrain is not motorable. The ambulance team reportedly asked that the patient be brought to Vanchurb, the nearest road-accessible point.

With no other option, villagers carried her for about two kilometres on a makeshift stretcher to reach the ambulance. A villager said, “We had no choice but to carry her on foot. The road ends far away, and help cannot reach our village.”

After reaching the pickup point, she was taken to Gommangi Primary Health Centre, where doctors found low haemoglobin levels and referred her to the Community Health Centre at Munchingiputtu.

At the CHC, she safely delivered a baby girl. Hospital authorities said, “Both mother and child are stable and under observation. The mother is being treated for low haemoglobin and may require a blood transfusion.”

Vedurogoyyi, home to around 35 families, continues to suffer from poor road connectivity. A resident said, “Every emergency becomes a struggle here. We are still waiting for a proper road.”

Locals, along with GSYU leader Madhav Rao, have urged authorities to speed up road construction, warning that delays are putting lives at risk during medical emergencies.