Stillborn carried 90 km in carry bag on bus from Nashik after hospital ‘denies’ ambulance

The tremor in Sakharam Kavar's voice spoke not just of grief, but of helplessness as he had to cradle his stillborn daughter in a simple carry bag for 90 km in a state transport bus from Nashik after the civil hospital allegedly denied him an ambulance.

"I lost my child due to the negligence and apathy of the health system," said the 28-year-old daily wage labourer from the Katkari tribal community.

His story, unfolding from the remote Jogalwadi hamlet in Palghar district, some 200 km from Mumbai, paints a harrowing picture of desperation and the tragic cost of inaccessible health care.

Nashik Civil Surgeon Dr Pramod Gunjal said the allegations were baseless.

"It is not a question of denying the allegations. Ambulances usually travel from Nashik to Mokhada area (Palghar) carrying new mothers. We could have accommodated Sakharam in one of these ambulances with the body of the baby," he said.

Dr Gunjal said hospital authorities had explained the protocol for conducting the last rites of the baby to Sakharam, and he claimed to have understood it.

"We didn't think he would leave with the body without informing us," said Dr Gunjal.

Until recently, Sakharam and his wife Avita, 26, worked at a brick kiln in Badlapur in Thane district.

With their third child due soon, they returned to their village three weeks ago in hope of a safe delivery.

But on June 11, when Avita went into labour, their dreams swiftly unravelled into a nightmarish ordeal.

"We called for an ambulance in the morning, but no one came," Sakharam recalled and added that the village ASHA worker, initially unreachable, eventually managed to arrange a private vehicle after reportedly receiving no response from the emergency number 108.

"There was movement in my womb on the way," says Avita in her frail voice. Upon reaching the Khodala Public Health Centre, she was allegedly kept waiting for over an hour.

The situation deteriorated further when she was referred to Mokhada Rural Hospital.

"They isolated me in a room," she alleged, her eyes welling up. "When my husband protested, they called the police, who beat him."

At Mokhada, doctors couldn't detect the foetal heartbeat, prompting a referral to Nashik Civil Hospital.

With their own ambulance reportedly broken down, an ambulance was summoned from Aase village, 25 km away, an official said.

Avita finally reached Nashik late that evening, where she delivered a stillborn girl at around 1.30 am on June 12.

In the morning, the Nashik Civil Hospital handed over the baby's body to Sakharam, but refused him an ambulance to take the body home, he claimed.

"I went to the ST stand, bought a Rs 20 carry bag, wrapped my baby in cloth, and travelled nearly 90 kilometres in an MSRTC bus,” he said. “Nobody asked what I was carrying.”

The baby was buried in their village the same day.

On June 13, Sakharam returned to Nashik to bring his wife home.

"They again refused an ambulance,” he claimed.

Weak and recovering, Avita made the journey back by bus. "They didn't even give her any medicine," Sakharam added.

Mokhada Tehsil Health Officer Dr Bhausaheb Chattar claimed the Nashik Civil Hospital had offered an ambulance for the return trip of Sakharam's wife on June 13, but Sakharam allegedly refused and signed a waiver.

He said all possible assistance was provided to the tribal couple.

Dr Chattar confirmed Sakharam indeed travelled with the baby's body on a bus.