Raisen (Madhya Pradesh), February 28 A 28-year-old woman gave birth to a baby girl at the main gate of the Raisen district hospital after a Janani Express ambulance driver allegedly dropped her off and left in the early hours, officials said on Saturday.
The "Janani Express Yojana" is a scheme sponsored by the Central government that aims to provide free transport facilities for pregnant women to reach government health institutions for safe delivery.
According to officials, Munni Bai was transported to the district hospital in a Janani Express vehicle on the night between Friday and Saturday. The driver dropped her off at the hospital gate and left, they added.
"The woman's husband had gone inside the hospital to get the necessary paperwork done when she started experiencing severe labor pains and delivered a baby girl at the hospital gate around 3:15 AM," officials said, adding that a video of the incident has gone viral.
Hospital staff immediately reached the spot after being alerted and transported the mother and newborn into the medical facility around 3:20 AM. Their condition is reported to be stable, they said.
Officials said this was the third delivery for the woman, who has two daughters.
District Hospital Civil Surgeon Dr Yashpal Balyan told
He said the woman told authorities that she had repeatedly called the ambulance service, which arrived late, and the driver left her at the gate instead of ensuring her admission.
Dr Balyan said that he will write a letter to the private firm operating the ambulance service to take action against the driver.
Both the mother and the newborn are healthy and are under observation, he added.