Delivery on road in Srinagar, baby dies

Ishfaq Tantry
Tribune News Service 
Srinagar, January 19

A woman from Kupwara district delivered a baby on the road in freezing cold after LD Maternity Hospital in Srinagar allegedly refused to admit her. The baby girl died soon after the birth.

Taking a serious note of the incident, the administration has ordered a probe. Divisional Commissioner (Kashmir) Baseer Ahmad has directed the principal of Government Medical College, Srinagar, which controls the maternity hospital, to submit a report within two days.

Suraya, hailing from the remote Mooree village in north Kashmir, delivered around 8.30 pm on Thursday, a little after the hospital, the largest maternity facility in the area, “turned her away”.

Suraya’s brother Hami Zaman alleged that they had reached the hospital in an ambulance around 4 pm and left the premises around 7.30 pm after doctors declined to admit her. 

“We hired an autorickshaw and as soon as we reached Bemina crossing, Suraya again developed pain. She delivered on the road within some time. The baby couldn’t survive probably due to the extreme cold as it was snowing then,” he said.

Zamaan said he had also lodged a complaint at the Rajbagh police station.