A concerning video has surfaced from Uttar Pradesh’s Hamirpur district, depicting a pregnant woman being transported to a hospital in a bullock cart. The Samajwadi Party chief, Akhilesh Yadav, shared the video on social media, using it as a platform to criticize the current BJP government in the state. Yadav pointedly accused the government of neglecting essential services, stating, “Under the BJP’s misrule, ambulances in Uttar Pradesh have turned into ‘bull-ances’. Will a trillion-dollar economy run on bullock carts?”
He further urged Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath to personally assess the condition of roads and ambulances during his inspections, suggesting the use of binoculars or drones if direct observation is difficult. The footage shows the woman in a bullock cart navigating a muddy, waterlogged, and unpaved road, an indication of the dire infrastructure challenges faced by the region.
According to reports, the bullock cart was used because an ambulance could not reach the village. The woman was taken to the Sisolor Community Health Centre, located seven kilometers from her village. Her father-in-law reported that the ambulance they had called became stuck due to the poor road conditions. The arduous journey in the bullock cart took approximately three hours. Upon arrival, doctors provided initial treatment and discharged her, noting that her delivery was still two days away.
Residents of the village reportedly face similar difficulties during the rainy season, with muddy roads often cutting them off from essential services. A local social worker highlighted that villagers often resort to carrying patients on their shoulders or using bullock carts in emergencies, and that a protest for better road infrastructure had been held previously.
An official stated that while efforts were made to construct a cement road, it was damaged by recent rains. Repair work is expected to commence once the area dries up.