Chandrapur: Pregnant woman stranded at petrol pump, lack of funds delays ambulance refuelling

While the government allocates a substantial budget for the healthcare system, providing provisions worth thousands of crores, a distressing incident unfolded on Wednesday. A pregnant woman found herself stranded at a petrol pump for nearly an hour as there were insufficient funds to refuel the ambulance with diesel. This incident sheds light on the chaotic state of the healthcare system in the taluka.

The Primary Health Centre in Dhaba has consistently been mired in controversy for various reasons. The health centre is staffed with three MBBS medical officers, but one of them is frequently absent from the headquarters. In the midst of this, a pregnant woman named Monica Ramdas Tangdaplewar, residing in Dhaba, began experiencing health complications on Tuesday. Due to the severity of her condition, she was referred to Chandrapur for appropriate medical intervention.

A regular ambulance service is provided by the Dhaba Health Centre, which frequently stops at the Gondpipri petrol pump. Unfortunately, at this time, the petrol pump refused to provide the diesel as he had not received the payment on time. Consequently, the ambulance, carrying a pregnant woman among others, was stranded at the petrol pump for nearly an hour, lacking the necessary fuel. The situation was resolved when the Taluka Medical Officer, Dr Chakole, arranged the required funds, enabling the ambulance to proceed to Chandrapur.

Despite the availability of funds from various schemes such as Janani Suraksha Yojana and Janani Shishu Suraksha Yojana, the health department's failure to provide diesel for the ambulance has endangered the life of a pregnant woman. The residents of the taluka are eagerly anticipating the appropriate actions to be taken against the officials responsible for neglecting their duties.