North Lakhimpur, Oct 7: A woman from Jugibari village in Lakhimpur’s riverine Lohit Khabolu area gave birth to a child on a pickup van while being taken to hospital early Wednesday. The woman, identified as wife of one Manoj Pegu, had gone into labour and was being taken to the Sri Sri Pitambar Deva Goswami District Hospital in Garmur, Majuli.

The hospital is around 20 km from the village. However, the absence of proper roads in the riverine area meant that an ambulance or other emergency medical service could not reach the village, according to local residents.

30 am. The vehicle had to negotiate a rugged road and weak bridges while travelling towards the hospital.

Before reaching the hospital, the woman went into advanced labour and delivered the baby on the pickup van under the open sky on an embankment at Uttar Dambukial village. “It’s an unfortunate incident which should not be repeated again, though there have been many such incidents in our greater riverine areas in the past,” said Manab Pratim Pegu, the woman’s brother-in-law.

Both the mother and the newborn are currently admitted to the hospital and are reported to be in healthy condition. The incident has once again highlighted the communication bottlenecks faced by residents of the riverine areas of Lakhimpur and Majuli in accessing healthcare services.

Residents said poor road and bridge connectivity has made emergency medical services difficult to access and has contributed to cases of deliveries taking place outside healthcare facilities in the wider riverine region. “We appeal to the state government to improve infrastructure such as roads and bridges in the Lohit Khabolu area so that people can access vital services like healthcare,” Pegu said.

Authorities had not issued a statement on the incident at the time of filing this report.