As heavy snowfall crippled normal life across Kashmir Valley this week, Army troops helped a pregnant woman in Kupwara reach the hospital by carrying her on a cot in knee-deep snow for about 2km before she could be driven to a hospital, sources said on Friday.
The woman gave birth to a boy at the Karalpura hospital.
The Company Operating Base (COB) of the Indian Army at Karalpura in Kupwara received a distress call at around 11.30pm on Tuesday from Manzoor Ahmed Sheikh who lives in Pharkian village, sources said.
Sheikh informed the Army that his wife was undergoing labour pain and has to be evacuated to a hospital immediately, they stated.
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It had been snowing for nearly 24 hours continuously when the call came, they said.
"Due to heavy snowfall and inclement weather, neither community health service vehicles nor civil transport could drive on snow-filled roads," a source noted.
Understanding the gravity of the situation and plight of the family, the army troops and a battlefield nursing assistant at Karalpura took some medical comfort items and reached their home on time.
"The troops escorted the woman and the family for about 2 km in knee-deep snow till the road head, from where she was taken to Karalpura hospital. On reaching the hospital, the woman was immediately attended by the medical staff, who were ready due to the coordination of the Indian Army with the civil administration," a source noted.
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The family and the civil administration thanked the Army unit for its humanitarian efforts, the sources said.
The father came to the Company Operation Base to distribute sweets to all troops after being blessed with a healthy boy, they said.
