Rajesh Kumar Behera in Kendrapara, Orissa
It was sheer negligence on the part of the village health workers and police officials that a 26-year-old woman delivered a baby girl at the village road on Saturday afternoon.
If sources are to be believed , Basanti Parida wife of Sardar Parida of village Dahanikhia under Korua Gram Panchayat ,45 km from here filed an FIR against her husband in the police station Naugaon last month to get justice from the police as her husband driven her out from the house. But police did not take any steps against the husband for which the woman was staying on the street and at last delivered a baby girl on the village street.
Basanti was feeling labour pain but the ASHA worker of the village did not think it proper to admit her in the hospital for which she delivered a baby girl on the street. A crowd gathered around her after she delivered a baby girl on the street and later, on getting the information, the para-medical staff from local Primary Health Center at Naugaon arrived at the spot and admitted both the mother and the child to the emergency ward.
She delivered a baby in absence of any help from anyone . After giving birth to a baby girl she fainted soon after due to excessive pain and bleeding. The infant was left crying in the shivering cold.
Basanti was driven out by her husband after she opposed the move of her husband to marry another girl. “My husband left me a few days ago and married another girl. I filed an FIR against my husband in the police station at Naugaon. But the police officials did not take any steps against my husband as he greased the palms of the venal police officials”,added Basanti.
The plight of a poor woman Basanti raised public outcry and a call for probes in Naugaon. Now both the mother- who has been admitted to the hospital- and the child are keeping well. When contacted Mohan Nayak the Inspector in charge of Naugaon police station told this paper “ Basanti came to the police station and stated before the police that her husband driven her out from the house after illegally marrying another girl. Husband came to the police station and stated that he legally divorced Basanti for which Basanti has no right to stay in his house in the village. He also produced some legal documents to prove that he divorced Basanti for which we did not think it proper to file any case against the husband. After delivering the baby girl, Basanti came to the police station with her baby on Saturday and we arranged her stay in the hospital. We contacted with some shelter homes at Cuttack and they agreed to provide shelter to Basanti and her new born daughter”.
