Woken at 3am, ASHA worker drives pregnant woman to hospital in auto

Udupi: At 3.15am on Thursday, 53-year-old Rajeevi Nayak, an ASHA worker and autodriver, received a frantic call from a pregnant woman, seeking the former’s help to reach the hospital. Although Rajeevi was sound asleep after a tiring day’s work discharging her responsibilities as a Covid-19 warrior, the thought of refusing her caller did not so much as cross her mind.
Rajeevi was familiar with her caller, Srilatha, having met her while carrying out her responsibilities as an ASHA worker. “During my interactions with pregnant women, I tell them to contact me at any time of the day if they are experiencing labour pain. Srilatha called me around 3am in the morning, and informed me that her pain was severe. Although I told her I could arrange an ambulance to take her to a nearby hospital, she assured she could travel by auto. I reached her home without wasting any time, and we rushed her to the Koosamma Shambu Shetty Memorial Haji Abdullah Mother and Child Hospital, which is 20km from Srilatha’s home. Around 12pm on Thursday, she gave birth to a baby girl. The mother and daughter are doing well,” Rajeevi told TOI.
Rajeevi has been an autodriver for the past two decades, during which time many a pregnant woman has received a free ride in her vehicle. What is more, she is also a booth level officer who participates, when her hectic schedule lets up, in the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan.