“JCB’s Bucket Became a Cradle for Hope”
Udhanpur 02 September :- Continuous rainfall since last night has severely impacted several remote areas of District Udhampur, particularly Block Panchari. In a dramatic incident from the Sadhota area, a pregnant woman in labour was safely evacuated with the help of a JCB machine after rising water in a stream cut off the road link.
The woman, identified as Pooja Devi, wife of Krishan Singh, resident of Sadhota, was initially taken to PHC Panchari with labour pains. However, due to cephalopelvic disproportion, delivery could not be conducted at the PHC despite best efforts by the doctors. It was decided to shift her to GMC Associated Hospital, Udhampur for advanced care.With the road washed away and streams swollen, authorities innovatively used a JCB machine to transport the patient across the raging nala (stream). The patient was carefully seated in the JCB’s bucket and moved to safer ground, from where she was transhipped into another vehicle for onward referral.
Deputy Commissioner Udhampur Saloni Rai confirmed and said that The safe evacuation was made possible due to the coordinated efforts of the medical team and the key role played by driver Mahatam Singh and MTS Sehdev, who ensured the patient’s timely transfer despite the hostile conditions.
This incident highlights not only the hardships faced by residents of remote hilly areas during adverse weather but also the extraordinary measures undertaken by authorities and frontline workers to ensure critical medical aid reaches those in need.
