After a woman in Kichha Tehsil of Udham Singh Nagar district had to allegedly deliver a baby in an open field last week after she was denied admission in a community health centre (CHC), the Uttarakhand State Women Commission (USWC) has asked the health department to investigate the matter and submit the report to the commission.

Informing about the incident, the vice chairperson of the commission, Shayara Bano said that the commission recently came to know that a woman went to Kichha CHC last week after she started experiencing labour pain but the medical staff apparently sent her back stating that there was no female doctor on duty that day.  Due to this, Bano added, the woman returned and ultimately, she had to deliver a baby in an open field. She said, "Though a medical team of health department along with an ambulance later arrived for the woman, she had already delivered her baby in an open field. The mother and child are doing fine but it is still very shameful that a mother had to deliver her baby under such circumstances when she should have been given the best care by the medical staff in the health centre."

Bano said that she visited the CHC on Saturday and questioned the medical superintendent about such irregularities. "The staff told me that there was no female doctor that day in the centre which is an absurd reason to send a pregnant woman in labour back. Another doctor should have been appointed on duty. The woman should not have been told to leave when she was in such pain," said Bano. She added, "The medical superintendent has informed me that a committee has been formed that is looking into the matter. I have directed them to complete the investigation and submit a report to the commission soon. The commission would not tolerate such apathetic behaviour towards women and the commission will ensure that authorities concerned take action against the responsible party."