NHRC notice to Chhattisgarh over non-availability of ambulance for tribal couple

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has issued notices to the health department of the Chhattisgarh government and the Sukma district collector over the incident

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has issued notices to the health department of the Chhattisgarh government and the Sukma district collector over a report that a tribal couple, whose baby boy died after delivery, was left stranded without an ambulance at a health facility at Dornapal.

A tribal couple, whose baby boy died after delivery, was left stranded without an ambulance at a health facility at Dornapal. (File Photo)

The NHRC in its notice, issued on June 22, said that if the content of the media report is true, the act amounts to violation human rights.

The NHRC issued notices to the principal secretary, health and family welfare department, and the Sukma district collector after taking suo-motu cognisance of a media report that said the tribal couple was left stranded at a sub-health centre in Dornapal and was not provided an ambulance to reach their village.

On June 20, a pregnant woman and her husband from Kankerlanka village in Maoist-affected Sukma district went to the Kankerlanka sub-health centre. After the delivery, the medical staff referred her to the Dornapal hospital as the newborn was unwell, which in turn, referred them to the Sukma district hospital. But when the newborn died on the way, the ambulance driver brought them back to the Dornapal health centre and left them there.

At about 10pm, someone reached out to a local journalist Raja Rathore who reached the hospital and attempted to get health officials to help the couple.

When there was no sign of an ambulance after trying for more than an hour, Rathore said he dropped the couple at their place in the midnight.

On June 21, the Sukma district administration ordered a probe into a local health official’s refusal to help the couple.