25-year-old Marathi actress, Pooja Zunjar passed away within hours of giving birth. Her baby too passed away within a few minutes of being delivered. The shocking incident took place in Maharashtra’s Hingoli district around 590 km from Mumbai on Sunday. The relatives of the deceased said that she would have been alive if only they had managed to get an ambulance.
Pooja was rushed to a primary health centre in Goregaon, her native place in the district, around 2 am on Sunday after she went into labour. She gave birth but the newborn died within a few minutes even as her condition deteriorated. Her family was advised to shift her to Hingoli Civil Hospital by the doctors. The family then tried to find an ambulance but were unable to do so immediately. They somehow managed to get hold of a private ambulance but it was too late by then. Pooja breathed her last on the way to the hospital.
As reported by a source to Indian Express, “The doctors at the primary health centre advised Ms Zunjar’s family members to shift her to the Hingoli civil hospital, which is around 40 km from Goregaon. Her panicked family members struggled to find an ambulance. They somehow managed to get a private ambulance but she died during the journey.”
The source further added, Her relatives have claimed that if the ambulance was available and helped Pooja reach the Hingoli Civil Hospital on time, she would have been alive. The Police have registered a medico-legal case and are recording statements of Pooja’s relatives.
Pooja Zunjar had appeared in two Marathi films. At present, she was on a break to concentrate on her pregnancy.
The incident paints a grim picture of the health infrastructure in rural Maharashtra. There is still much to be done at the rural level.
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