Shopian: A woman hailing from Zarakan village of south Kashmir’s Shopian district was on Tuesday forced to give birth to her child on a stretcher carried by locals on foot on way to the hospital as authorities had not cleared the road of snow, locals said.
Locals identified the woman as Akhter Jan, wife of Papa Poswal. Jan, they said, was carried on a stretcher after she complained of labour pain. But Jan Jan was forced to deliver seven kilometres ahead of the hospital, locals said.
Jan’s husband told Kashmir Reader that authorities had not yet cleared the Shopian-Keller road forcing them to carry the expecting mother on stretcher.
He said that they left their home at 10 am in the morning but reached the hospital at 1 pm in the afternoon adding his wife had delivered her child by then on the stretcher.
Jan, he said, is stable as of now.
CMO Shopian, Dr Ramesh Bhat also confirmed the incident.

Raashid Hassan