A pregnant woman gave birth to a child on a broken bridge on her way to the hospital in Roumari upazila of Kurigram. The woman gave birth on a broken bridge made of bamboo and wood adjacent to the Sabuj Para sluicegate on the Roumare-Katamari road in the Bowalmari embankment of the Shaulmari union of the upazila at around 11 am on Saturday (July 6).
Birth mother's name is Bilkis Begum. She is the wife of Saijuddin of Jadurchar village of Jadurchar union. But she was on his way to the hospital from her father's house in Sutirpar village of Roumari Sadar union.
Bilkis's brother Safiuddin and sister-in-law Amina Begum said that in the morning, when labor pains arose, I took Bilkis to the hospital in a battery-operated van. But when the van approached the broken bridge, there was no way for the van to cross. Walking across is dangerous. I was forced to walk across the bridge with Bilkis in pain. But when she reached the middle of the bridge, she fell sick with labor pains and lay down. A girl child was born on the bridge. Later return home with the child and mother. They are fine now.
Locals said that the part of Bwalmari embankment adjacent to Sabuj Para sluicegate on Roumare-Katamari road collapsed in 2014 flood. The people of 14 villages have been deprived of uninterrupted communication since this place, which is only one and a half kilometers away from the upazila, was destroyed. The bridge was built with the efforts of the locals using bamboo and wood. Later, the wood of different parts of the bridge broke, but due to carelessness and negligence of the authorities, the bridge became vulnerable. In this situation, it has become impassable for sick people and children. For a long time, there was a demand to repair the bridge and build a permanent bridge, but no one took it into consideration.