Thursday was unlike any other day for 59-year-old Gopala Krishna, a traffic sub-inspector in Bytarayanapura, Bengaluru. He left home like any other day and was at the duty at Bapuji Nagar junction in the city, but he got back home feeling rather good. He helped get a pregnant woman who was lying by the side of a road to reach a hospital.
"It was at around 9 in the morning when passerby told me that he saw a pregnant woman crying near the drainage. He was followed by another person who also claimed to have heard her cry. Her labour pain had started," said Gopala Krishna.
Without wasting a second, Krishna rushed to the pourakarmika women (municipal worker who collect garbage), who were working in the area, to take a look at what exactly was happening.
"I am only happy that I was able to think on my feet, but kudos to the public who noticed the pregnant woman and the pourakarmika women who acted without delay. Three women assisted the mother, while I called for the ambulance."
In all this, Krishna knew nothing about the woman until she reached the hospital.
"The pourakarmika women surrounded the pregnant woman and made an enclosure with cloth. She gave birth to a girl child at around 9:10 am. We rushed the mother and the child to a hotel. While we gave her some biscuits and soda, the pourakarmika women cleaned the baby. The ambulance reached the spot in 15 mins and took the mother and child to Vani Vilas hospital," he said.
Twenty-three-year-old Selvi had come from Kallakurichi in Tamil Nadu to Bengaluru for her delivery. She had come all alone. She was abandoned by her husband Raju and her in-laws, Krishna said.
"The first thing in the morning my son did was to show me the Facebook post on Bengaluru city police page. More than the reward that Bengaluru Police is giving me, what makes me happy about is, that my family is proud of me," he said.
Krishna is going to be felicitated by Bengaluru police team on Friday evening.
M A Saleem, Additional Commissioner of Police Traffic (west) told The News Minute that Bengaluru police was giving Krishna an appreciation letter and cash reward of Rs 2,000.