Srinagar: The joy of Gulam Rabani, a casual labourer in North Kashmir’s Kupwara district, knew no bounds when he finally cuddled his baby girl who was born in an Army vehicle in adverse weather, officials said here on Tuesday.
The child was born on Monday when the mother was being shifted to a hospital for delivery in the Army vehicle, they said.
The Army, which often provides relief like medical facilities to the locals living along the Line of Control, got a distress call from an Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHA) worker of Kalaroos area in the frontier district about the deteriorating condition of a pregnant woman, they said.
“In the early hours of February 1 at around 4:15 am when it was snowing, the Kalaroos company commander received a distress call from the ASHA worker requesting for immediate evacuation of a patient in labour pains to a local hospital from Narikoot village, as the ambulance could not honour their request due to the inclement weather,” an official said.
Immediately, an Army Gypsy along with a medical team was sent to Narikoot for evacuating the patient.
“Enroute to the hospital, the ASHA worker accompanying the patient requested the team to park the vehicle by the road side as patient’s condition was serious. She along with the Army medical team decided to carry out the delivery inside the Gypsy and got into action in low visibility and snow conditions,” the official said.
The official said that the newborn’s first cry heralded her arrival into the world, bringing joy to everyone involved in the delivery and tears in her father’s eyes.
Rabani cried with happiness and thanked everyone present for bringing his child into the world under the most adverse circumstances, the official said.
The company commander of the Army in the area congratulated the family with gifts and felicitated the brave ASHA worker, Sadia Begum, for her confidence in the Army medical team and her decisiveness in odd circumstances, the official said
