Written by –Manoj Kumar Ojha
Tinsukia: A pregnant mother and her baby died in Assam’s Tinsukia on Saturday night following statewide reactions over maternal health concerns.
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According to the Sample Registration System (SRS) Bulletin 2022, Assam has one of the highest Maternal Mortality Ratios (MMR) in the country, 195 deaths per 100,000 live births, far above the national average of 97.
According to the reports, the heart-wrenching tragedy unfolded on Saturday night at the Deamoolie Tea Estate under Baghjan Police Station near Doomdooma in upper Assam’s Tinsukia district, following the death of a pregnant woman and her stillborn baby.
The incident has triggered widespread outrage among tea garden workers, once again highlighting the chronic lack of basic healthcare facilities, particularly ambulance services, in Assam’s tea estates.
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The deceased, Bharati Tanti (30), a mother of two and resident of Palang Line in the Deamoolie Tea Estate, was heavily pregnant and nearing full term. On Saturday evening, she delivered a stillborn baby at home. As her condition rapidly deteriorated post-delivery, her family rushed to seek emergency medical help from the estate hospital.
However, their pleas met a tragic dead end. According to sources, the ambulance owned by Oil India Limited was out of service and unrepaired for months. The only government-provided ambulance had already left with another patient.
With no immediate transportation available, the family was forced to arrange a private vehicle after considerable delay. Bharati Tanti died on the way to the Doomdooma Government Hospital.
News of her death, caused by the alleged failure to provide ambulance services, spread rapidly through the tea estate, igniting anger and sorrow. Late at night, over a hundred tea garden workers, both men and women, gathered in front of the estate’s factory.
In a deeply emotional and symbolic protest, they held aloft the bodies of the mother and her stillborn child, accusing the tea estate management of negligence and demanding justice.
Protesters claimed that the Deamoolie Tea Estate has not maintained any functioning ambulance for emergencies.
Although Oil India Limited provided a vehicle, the estate management made no attempt to repair it after it was damaged.
The only available government ambulance, they pointed out, is wholly inadequate for a population dependent on urgent and timely medical intervention, especially for pregnant women.
Locals further revealed that this was not an isolated incident. Authorities have reported several maternal deaths in the estate in recent years due to the unavailability of ambulances.
Just a month ago, the Baghjan-Dighaltarrang sub-branch of the All Assam Tea Tribes Students’ Association (ATTSA) submitted a memorandum to the tea estate authorities, demanding a dedicated and functioning ambulance. Their plea, however, was ignored.
Police reached the protest site and assured the grieving workers that they would take up the matter for immediate resolution.
Though the protest dispersed following the assurance, the demand for accountability is growing louder.
The tea garden unit of the Assam Chah Mazdoor Sangha (ACMS) also submitted a memorandum to the estate manager, accusing the management of repeatedly denying workers their fundamental rights and healthcare access.
The ACMS warned that they would launch a full-scale agitation if the authorities fail to fulfill their demands urgently.
Tea garden areas fare even worse due to poor infrastructure, lack of transport, and inadequate healthcare staffing. Multiple reports have repeatedly shown that women in labor often walk miles or wait for hours for transportation, losing precious time and, in many cases, their lives.
Now, activists, residents, and labor unions are pressuring the Assam Labour Department and Health Ministry to investigate the situation and ensure that every tea estate provides properly functioning ambulance services, medical staff, and emergency care facilities.