Allahabad, November 29: After spending six days on platform number 4 of Allahabad railway junction, a woman from Bihar delivered a baby late on Friday night in absence of any help from the railway authorities.
At 1.30 am, Kanchan (33) gave birth to a baby boy and fainted soon after due to excessive pain and bleeding. The infant was left crying in the shivering cold.
It took the railway authorities nearly 12 hours to respond to the situation after the media made several queries about the incident.
Kanchan, who is unable to speak properly due to poor health, had boarded a train for Kanpur from Patna on November 19 but got off at Allahabad the next day due to pain and other pregnancy-related complications.
“My husband left me a few days ago. I was going to Kanpur, where my relatives live. On November 20, my condition suddenly started deteriorating and I had to get off the train here,” said Kanchan, who hails from a Bhagalpur village.
“Since I have no relatives in this city, I took shelter on platform number 4. Some travellers helped me with money and eatables,” she added.
According to a vendor, some women passengers found the baby lying in the cold this morning and covered him with rags and shawls. It is suspected that the baby was bitten by rats since there was an injury mark on his face.
“When the mother regained consciousness around 8 am, I offered bread and milk to her and the baby. Several travellers informed the station authorities regarding the incident and but no one came to help the mother,” said Rashmi, who was waiting for her train to Delhi at the platform.
According to the passengers, despite repeated requests to the railway staff, no help arrived.
“We had informed two railway constables and one TTE, and requested them to send the mother and the baby to the railway hospital. But all efforts were in vain,” said Rohit, a passenger.
It was only at 1 in the afternoon, officials of the Allahabad Divisional Railway rushed to the platform after media queries about the mother-son duo poured in.
The staff took her to a government hospital in Shahganj and got her admitted there.
“As soon as the railway got the information, it sent a doctor and RPF personnel to help her. The railways would see that such incident should not occur in future,” Amit Malviya, PRO, North Central Railway, later said.
According to the doctors in the hospital, both mother and baby are doing fine.
——Agencies