Though doctors attribute the miscarriage to low haemoglobin levels, villagers blamed the tragedy on potholes on dirt tracks near her home, where she stumbled and fell

AKOLA: A pregnant woman had to be carried in a makeshift saree-turned-stretcher as the dirt roads in rural swathes of Akola, Maharashtra, were wrecked by rain making it impossible for vehicles to ply on them. The woman suffered miscarriage on the way.
Sheetal Kasgade, 25, who was in acute labour, was carried in the makeshift stretcher till the main road so that she could be driven to a govt hospital.Though doctors attribute the miscarriage to low haemoglobin levels, villagers blamed potholes on dirt tracks near her home, where she stumbled and fell. The incident occurred on July 16.
Sheetal’s husband Rajkumar said, “I was at work when a neighbour called to say Sheetal had fainted and it was impossible for ambulance to enter the village as the dirt roads were unmotorable. The pathetic condition of our village roads is triggering tragedies.”
A group of women told TOI. “After Sheetal slipped and fell, we spread out a saree, slid her inside and carried her till the main road after a treacherous trek.”They insisted miscarriage was a result of the fall. “During monsoon, we cannot walk without risking an accident,” they said. Dr Shyamkumar Sirsam, faculty member and senior doctor in obstetrics and gynaecology department at the hospital, said, “Prima facie, it was low haemoglobin that caused miscarriage. There was no damage to her placenta, nor did she suffer injuries.”