Vasai-Virar: A doctor with the Vasai-Virar Municipal Corporation (VVMC) and his tractor came to the rescue of a seven-month pregnant woman stranded in her home in flood-hit Nalasopara when she went into premature labour on Wednesday.Dr Gaurav Wagh, a medical officer at the Nalasopara Health Centre who was travelling on a tractor to arrange diesel supplies in the afternoon, learnt of the situation and conducted the delivery at the woman’s home. He then transported her and the premature baby to hospital on the tractor. “We were stuck for some time, but we managed to get both the mother and the baby to the hospital in time,” said Dr Wagh.The 26-year-old woman, a resident of Sai Nagar in Nalasopara (East), was due to deliver in September. With the area submerged due to heavy rain, an ambulance could not reach her home when her labour pains began. Her husband and relatives desperately looked for help.Near the civic centre in Nalasopara, the doctor came across the woman’s relatives. Dr Wagh collected rushed to the woman’s home.As the baby was born premature, both mother and newborn were in a critical condition. With roads inundated and no other vehicle available, Dr Wagh transported the woman on the tractor through the floodwaters to the VVMC’s Tulinj hospital. The newborn was shifted to the NICU at Sarvodaya Mother and Child Care Centre for specialised treatment.Both mother and baby are now stable and out of danger, said Dr Bhakti Chaudhari, CMO, Vasai-Virar Municipal Corporation.
