The Gujarat High Court on Thursday initiated suo motu action after the death of a pregnant woman who was unable to reach an ambulance due to the lack of a proper road extending five kilometres from her home.
In response, the court has issued a notice to the state’s Chief Secretary, demanding an explanation for how this “tragedy occurred” and instructing him to submit a report by October 17.
A division bench, comprising Justice Biren Vaishnav and Justice Nisha Thakore, took note of the reports from Vibes of India and other media outlets.
The bench observed that villagers have been urging the government to construct a road for years. A tender was issued five years ago, but no action has followed. The village lacks essential medical infrastructure, such as a primary health centre, with no accessible healthcare nearby.
The report by Vibes of India, published on Tuesday, detailed the plight of Kavita Bhil, a pregnant woman from Turkheda, a tribal village in Kawant taluka of Chhota Udepur district. Kavita had to be carried on a makeshift stretcher made from cloth for five kilometres. She died on the way to the ambulance after delivering a baby girl, who remains in critical condition.
The bench noted that this incident was the third of its kind in the village. The judges stated, “We can take judicial note of the fact that on the banks of Narmada, there is a developed area where the Statue of Unity stands. Unfortunately, because health services did not arrive at the doorstep, the lady succumbed, giving birth to a third child. This is the status of affairs when we talk about equality and the right to life in a developed state like Gujarat.”
The Statue of Unity is located in Ekta Nagar, formerly known as Kevadia, in the Narmada district, 103 kilometres away from Turkheda.
The court has instructed the District Legal Services Authority to assess the needs of the deceased woman’s family and the village in terms of basic amenities and healthcare.
After issuing the order, the bench observed, “We talk about development in the state where a villager has to face this, and the government says that we can’t construct a road on the place where the village is located, but we can have tunnels on Jammu and Kashmir roads. Here, this village hasn’t had a road for the last five years.”
“Our heads hang in shame that we had to read a press clipping on the birth date of Mahatma Gandhi as well as Lal Bahadur Shastri,” the court added.
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