A 26-year old migrant worker on Friday was forced to deliver an infant at Mangaluru Railway Junction (MAJN), after a 108 ambulance that was called to help her, was stuck at the approach road.
A native of Madhya Pradesh, Latha was due to deliver her child in a couple of weeks. "She was on her way to her native on Friday evening for her delivery, that's why she had come to the station. But then she suddenly developed labour pain," a person known to the woman said.
With no help or medical facility available at MAJN, Latha started frantically crying in pain.
During the commotion, a local auto driver, Abubakker, displayed his presence of mind and called the 108 ambulance services.
Since the nearest available ambulance at Kankanady was handling another emergency call, the dispatchers immediately alerted another ambulance approximately 7-km away at Ullal.
“As soon as we got the call around 6.30 pm we rushed there. Though we immediately rushed to the Mangaluru Railway Junction, we weren’t able to reach the woman as the vehicle got stuck at the approach road,” says Manjunatha, the Emergency Vehicle Staff.
The approach road between Nagori and Mangaluru Railway junction is just 750-m wide.
Meanwhile, with the help of a few people at the station, Latha delivered the baby at the Mangaluru Railway Junction.
A little while later, the ambulance made its way through the narrow road and transferred the mother and her newborn to the Lady Goschen hospital.
Meanwhile, locals were infuriated by the incident and demanded an explanation from the Railway authorities for the condition of the road. One of the oldest transits points in the state, the MAJN is a stop for 35 trains each day, and has a footfall of 2500 each day. Despite this, the station lacks basic amenities like medical assistance, restaurants, restrooms, washrooms etc.
According to locals, they have been asking authorities for over 15 years to improve the condition of the existing roads.
"I have been taking passengers to and fro this station for over 15 years now. We drivers have submitted numerous petitions about this road. The roads that lead to the station are so narrow that hardly two vehicles can pass side by side. For bigger vehicles like an ambulance or fire engine, navigating through the curvy thin road is no less than a nightmare. Why are the authorities not acting on it? What if it was a major mishap, are they waiting for it to happen?" Abubakker asked.
Meanwhile, the mother and child are recovering in the hospital and are in a stable condition. The medics said that the family of the duo have been informed.
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