AGRA: An unborn child died in Agra district’s Bah sub-division after an ambulance carrying a 25-year-old woman in labour got stuck in a massive pothole for over two hours.The incident happened in Gadhbar village during the early hours of Sept 3, when around 1 am, Nidhi, wife of Pravendra Singh, went into active labour. Her family called an emergency ambulance, which arrived at the village shortly thereafter. However, the journey to the hospital was abruptly cut short when the ambulance plunged into a massive pothole on the village’s link road connecting the main highway, immobilising the vehicle completely.Despite desperate manoeuvres by the driver, the wheels spun helplessly in the mud. Thrust into a race against time, frantic villagers managed to arrange a tractor, spending nearly two gruelling hours trying to pull the ambulance free.The family finally reached a community health centre on 3:30 am, too late to save the child. Doctors confirmed that the baby had died in the womb due to complications and the critical delay in medical arrival, though emergency surgery stabilised the mother.Behind the tragedy lies a trail of unheeded warnings and institutional negligence. Bhanu Pratap Singh, a local resident, said Public Works Department (PWD) had constructed and repaired the link road barely six months ago. But heavy rains washed away a portion of it a month ago, rendering it a hazard.“Villagers repeatedly approached the PWD junior engineer and demanded urgent repairs, but no action was taken,” Singh alleged.Frustrated by the systemic indifference, residents raised the issue on Saturday at the Sampoorna Samadhan Diwas (Tehsil Diwas) held at Bah tehsil. They demanded the immediate construction of a durable cement concrete (CC) road and accountability for the tragedy.Responding to the outcry, Bah SDM Vinod Kumar told TOI on Sunday, “Yes, during the Sampoorn Samadhaan Diwas, I had received a demand regarding the road. The PWD road had been damaged due to soil erosion caused by heavy rainfall, which was creating difficulties. PWD officials concerned were present, and they were informed about the situation. They will get the work completed as soon as possible. We are also probing the incident.”For the residents of Gadhbar village, however, official probes and belated promises offer cold comfort for a tragedy born of potholes that officials chose to ignore.
