A heart-wrenching incident that underscores the dire state of rural infrastructure has come to light from Madhya Pradesh. A woman in Madhya Pradesh’s Singrauli district was forced to deliver twin girls at home. This was due to the unavailability of an ambulance and absence of proper road connectivity in the village. Tragically, one of the newborns died shortly after birth.

The incident occurred in Dhani village of the Chitrangi region, where 25-year-old Gallu Devi went into labour on Monday evening. With no motorable road or vehicle access, her family had no choice but to assist with the delivery at home.

Mother Carried on Cot Through Muddy Terrain

When Gallu Devi’s health deteriorated the next day, villagers made a makeshift stretcher using a cot and carried her nearly two kilometres through uneven, muddy paths to reach the nearest road. From there, she was taken in an auto-rickshaw to the community health centre in Korsar town.

वक्त पर इलाज न मिलने कारण नवजात शिशु मौत के कारण बन गए
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Leela Sahu को उठवाने की बात करने वाले BJP सांसद जी इस गर्भवती महिला का वीडियो देख क्या कहेंगे ?|

माननीय मुख्यमंत्री, @CMMadhyaPradesh जी@DrRajesh4BJP सांसद जी @rshuklabjp उप. मुख्यमंत्री जी#Singrauli #mp pic.twitter.com/UnagY682mL

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A video of the woman being carried on a cot has since gone viral on social media. The incident drew widespread criticism over the lack of essential healthcare and transport services in the rural regions.

One Baby Dead, Other in Critical Condition

While Gallu Devi gave birth to twin girls at home, one of the infants died within hours. The surviving baby, weighing under 1 kg, was later referred to the district hospital in Baidhan for further care. However, the family opted to return home instead, reportedly due to logistical challenges.

सिंगरौली में एक और नवजात बच्चे की मौत, सड़क को हाल आप देख सकते है एम्बुलेंस ना मिलने की वजह से खाट पर परिजन गर्भवती महिला को अस्पताल ले गए !

याद दिला दे सांसद @DrRajesh4BJP महोदय गर्भवती महिलाओं के लिए हेलीकॉप्टर सर्विस शुरू करने वाले थे pic.twitter.com/h96eqG8NnW

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Block Medical Officer Harishankar Bains confirmed the medical team had visited the family. They also warned that the surviving newborn’s life remains at risk due to her low birth weight and lack of proper medical attention.

State Minister’s Village Under Scrutiny

What has intensified public outrage is the fact that this incident took place in the native village of Radha Singh, Madhya Pradesh’s Minister for Panchayat and Rural Development. Social media users have been quick to question how basic infrastructure can be lacking in a minister’s own constituency, and what that implies for other, less-visible regions.

This is not an isolated case. Similar incidents have occurred across India due to ambulance unavailability and poor rural connectivity. In January 2025, a woman’s body in Uttarakhand had to be carried without an ambulance. In another case, a tribal woman in Kerala was taken for burial in an auto-rickshaw due to lack of transport. More recently, on June 30, a woman and her newborn son died in an ambulance crash in Narmadapuram district while returning from a government hospital.

Locals Demand Action Amid Outrage

Locals in Dhani village blame the death of the newborn on the delay in reaching medical help. Many residents claim this is not the first time such hardship has occurred in the area and are calling for immediate government intervention to improve healthcare access and road connectivity.

The tragedy has once again highlighted the gap between the state’s claims of rural development and the on-ground reality for countless families still living without access to basic healthcare and transport services.