Pregnant woman dies after ambulance no-show at Assam tea estate, sparks protest
Protestors said tea estate had no ambulance of its own & government ambulances were either in disrepair or insufficient
Doomdooma, July 8: A tense situation erupted on Saturday night at Deamoolie Tea Estate of James Warren Tea Limited near Doomdooma, which falls under the jurisdiction of the Baghjan Police Station, following the death of a pregnant woman.
According to reports, Bharati Tanti (30), wife of Brij Kishore Tanti from the Palang Line of Deamoolie Tea Estate and mother of two previous children, was pregnant and nearing delivery time. On Saturday, she gave birth to a stillborn baby at home. As her physical condition deteriorated rapidly, her family rushed to the tea garden hospital to request for an ambulance. However, the ambulance provided by Oil India Limited was out of service and the one provided by the State government had already left the place with another patient. As a result, the tea garden authority could not provide an ambulance.
Left with no option, the family arranged for a private vehicle after a long delay and took Bharati Tanti to the government hospital in Doomdooma in a critical condition. Unfortunately, she died on the way.
News of Bharati Tanti’s death due to the unavailability of an ambulance spread quickly, sparking outrage among the tea garden workers. Late at night, over a hundred men and women gathered in front of the tea estate’s factory and staged a protest. Holding the bodies of the mother and stillborn baby, the protesters alleged that the woman had to die prematurely due to the lack of an ambulance service.
The protesters claimed that the Deamoolie Tea Estate has no ambulance of its own. Even though the ambulance provided by Oil India Limited was slightly damaged, the management took no steps to repair it. Moreover, the lone ambulance provided by the government is insufficient to meet the requirements of tea garden workers. According to the protesters, such a heartbreaking incident occurred solely due to the lack of an ambulance.
Local residents also mentioned that there have been similar cases of maternity deaths in the past at the same tea estate due to the unavailability of ambulances. A month ago, Baghjan- Dighaltarrang sub-branch of ATTSA had submitted a memorandum to the estate management, demanding ambulance services at the tea estate hospital, but no steps were taken.
While a police officer visited the protesting crowd and assured that the issue would be resolved through discussion, prompting the protestors to disperse, the locals strongly advocated for intervention by the labour department against the tea garden authority, which continues to ignore the basic needs and well-being of the workers.
Later, the tea garden unit of the ACMS submitted a memorandum to the manager of the garden, alleging that the garden authority has been depriving the labourers of their legitimate rights. The ACMS unit also threatened to start an agitation if their demands are not fulfilled at the earliest.