Ambulance for Wedding, Pregnant Woman on Bike: Chatra Officials Under Fire

Chatra: Two days after a pregnant woman of Tikuliyatand village under Kunda block in Chatra district had to be taken to a hospital allegedly on a bike as the govt ambulance was engaged in transporting a wedding party, deputy commissioner (DC) Ravi Anand on Monday set up a committee led by SDO Jahur Alam to probe into the incident.Sanju Devi (28) reportedly went into labour on Saturday night. Her brother-in-law, Shivam Kumar, said, “We contacted the govt-run Mamta Vahan ambulance control room through a sahiya (Asha worker) but were told that the ambulance had been booked for a wedding procession. With no other option available, we transported her to the Kunda primary health centre (PHC), located at a distance of 3 km, on a motorcycle. Her husband, Suman Bharti, was away at another village for work.”“The family managed to reach the PHC late Saturday night, but found the main gate of the hospital locked. Only one Auxiliary Nurse Midwife (ANM) was present at the facility, while doctors and other staff were absent. Several outsourced employees had marked attendance but were missing from duty. Later, she gave birth to a healthy baby boy,” Shivan added.Terming the misuse of ambulance as a “grave lapse”, DC Anand said, “I have ordered a probe into the incident to fix accountability and take action against those responsible.”