BELAGAVI:
Yallawwa Mayur Gayakwad, 23, returning home to Raibag from Kolhapur for her third delivery, suffered labour pains mid-journey and gave birth to a boy on the train. The entire railway machinery got into a tizzy, organising a makeshift ward and ensuring a safe delivery, but Yallawwa wasn’t too flustered. She had done the same thing one year ago.
Yallawwa lives with her husband and children in a rented house in Kolhapur. While Yallawwa works as a domestic help, her husband is a construction labourer. They have a girl and a boy, who was born in a running train near Hatakanagale railway station on the Maharashtra border a year ago. Expecting for the third time, Yallawwa boarded Haripriya Express on Monday morning to return to her house in Shahu Park, 7km from Raibag town, for the delivery. Her sister-in-law accompanied her on the less than 3-hour journey.
At 9.30am, as the train neared Chinchali, 15km from Raibag, Yallawwa developed labour pain. Sources said she was travelling in a crowded general compartment and seeing her in pain, passengers offered her a seat. But the pain intensified and Yallawwa realised it was time.
The railway staff called for 108 ambulance to stand by at Raibag station but Yallawwa seemed ready to deliver on the running rain itself. The staff quickly vacated the compartment and covered it with bedsheets to create a labour room. Yallawwa’s sister-in-law and some elderly women passengers then delivered the baby.
When the train pulled into Raibag, the ambulance staff gave first aid to the mother and child and shifted them. The station master stopped the train for half an hour at Raibag, allowing for their safe transfer. Health officer RH Rangannavar said the mother and child are doing well at the Raibag taluk hospital and are expected to be discharged in a day.
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ON THE GO: Yallawwa Gayakwad along with the baby at Raibag taluk hospital
