Rinarani Ojha with her newborn at a school. Telegraph picture

Kendrapara, Sept. 29: Savita Sahu, 22, looks all washed out having just given birth to a baby boy amidst the most trying circumstances.

This resident of Nalapari village under Aul block had the baby delivered on Tuesday on the rooftop of a house where 20 people had taken shelter to escape the fury of floods.

“When she went into labour pain, we, who were with her on the rooftop, made calls to the local police station and primary health centre from our cell phones. But no one responded. It was by god’s grace that she had a safe delivery. Both the mother and child are safe now,” said Suryakanta Lenka, another resident of the village.

Like Savita, Rinarani Ojha, too, was lucky to give birth to a female child in the flooded Jadupur village under Mahakalpada block over a week ago. “My wife gave birth to the child when the entire village was reeling from high floods. As my house was drowned in floodwater, we took shelter on the rooftop. Suddenly, she complained of labour pain. We had nothing to do but to pray to god. She delivered the child safely. We have named her Banya (meaning the flood),” said Surendra Ojha, father of the newborn.

Not all women in the flood zone, however, are as lucky as Savita or Rinarani. Roughly, about 1,000 expecting mothers are battling floods with no access to medical care. Sources said quite a few of these cases in villages under Aul, Pattmundai, Rajkanika and Rajnagar blocks were in advanced stages of pregnancy.

“Exact details of the health profiles of pregnant women in the flood-hit villages are still awaited. However, with almost all the villages having the services of National Rural Health Mission-sponsored Asha volunteers, we hope these women are safe. Asha volunteers are well trained for deliveries in crisis zones,” said Jagadish Prasad Sahu, district project manager, National Rural Health Mission.

With water yet to recede from the villages, a clear picture on expecting mothers in the flood-hit areas is yet to emerge. “Apart from pregnant mothers, care also needs to be taken of the newborn babies. The sarpanchs and panchayat raj institution members have been asked to provide information in this regard so that such women and babies can be taken care of. Medical teams at the moment are unable make their way into the areas badly-hit by the flood. The teams are also facing shortage of boats,” said Sahu.

Former Kendrapara MLA Utkal Kesari Parida alleged that the officials supervising flood relief had forgotten about these women who remained among the most vulnerable. “I have personally requested the district officials several times to make special arrangements for these groups, but to no avail,” he said.