Gujarat 108 team delivers baby in flood-hit Jamnagar village, carries mother 500m through mud
Synopsis
When roads vanished under monsoon floodwater in a remote Jamnagar village, a two-person 108 ambulance team delivered a baby on-site — then carried mother and newborn 500 metres through the mud on a cot, with villagers pitching in. Gujarat CM Bhupendra Patel called the service a 'lifeline.' The story is as much about rural healthcare gaps as it is about individual heroism.
Key Takeaways
A 108 ambulance team conducted an emergency home delivery in Kotda Bavisi village , Jamjodhpur taluka , Jamnagar on 7 July after heavy rain blocked all road access.
EMT Hasmukh Sagathiya and Pilot Kamlesh Kantariya performed the on-site delivery after the ambulance could not reach the woman's home.
Mother and newborn were carried nearly 500 metres through mud on a cot by the team and local villagers to reach the waiting ambulance.
Both were shifted to Jamjodhpur Sub-District Hospital for further observation and treatment.
Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel publicly praised the 108 team, calling the service a 'lifeline for citizens during medical emergencies.'
A 108 ambulance team conducted a safe emergency home delivery for a pregnant woman in the remote Wadi area of Kotda Bavisi village, Jamjodhpur taluka, Jamnagar district, after heavy rainfall on 7 July rendered approach roads completely impassable. The mother and newborn were subsequently carried nearly 500 metres through waterlogged mud on a cot — with help from local residents — before reaching the waiting ambulance and being shifted to hospital.
How the Emergency Unfolded
When the pregnant woman went into labour, persistent rain had turned the village's access roads into muddy, waterlogged stretches, making it impossible for the ambulance to reach her home. Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) Hasmukh Sagathiya and Pilot Kamlesh Kantariya responded to the distress call and arrived at the village, but could advance no further than the main road.
With the woman's condition deteriorating and evacuation no longer feasible, the team took a critical on-site decision: to conduct the delivery at her home. The procedure was completed safely, with both mother and newborn in stable condition.
The 500-Metre Rescue Through the Mud
Once the delivery was complete, the team faced the challenge of transporting the mother and infant to the ambulance. Local villagers stepped in, helping carry the pair on a cot through nearly 500 metres of muddy terrain before they reached the vehicle. Both were then taken to Jamjodhpur Sub-District Hospital, where they were referred for further medical observation and treatment.
Manveer Dagar, Programme Manager of 108 Jamnagar, noted that the team's timely response and on-site medical intervention were decisive in ensuring a safe outcome despite the absence of vehicle access and the severity of the weather.
Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel's Response
Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel praised the ambulance team publicly, highlighting the incident as an example of the 108 service's role during medical emergencies. In a post on social media platform X, Patel said, 'The 108 ambulance service truly serves as a lifeline for citizens during medical emergencies.'
Referring to the successful delivery, he added, 'When a pregnant woman in a remote area is able to deliver her baby safely during a period of heavy rainfall, it feels as though God's blessings have been showered upon the family.' The Chief Minister also extended his congratulations to the ambulance personnel, saying, 'Congratulations to the 108 ambulance team. My heartfelt best wishes to the mother, the baby and the family.'
Wider Context: Emergency Services Under Monsoon Stress
The incident underscores the recurring challenge that Gujarat's monsoon season poses to last-mile emergency healthcare delivery. Rural areas in Saurashtra and Kutch — including parts of Jamnagar district — are frequently cut off during heavy rainfall, leaving residents dependent on services such as the 108 ambulance network for critical care. This is not an isolated case; emergency responders across Gujarat have repeatedly improvised during monsoon-related access failures in recent years.
The community's spontaneous assistance — villagers forming a human chain to carry the cot through the mud — also highlights the gap that formal infrastructure has yet to bridge in remote hamlets. As Gujarat's monsoon season intensifies, the episode is likely to renew calls for better rural road connectivity and pre-positioned emergency medical resources in flood-prone talukas.
Point of View
But it should also be read as a systems failure. The fact that a trained medical team had to improvise a home delivery and then physically carry a post-partum mother through half a kilometre of mud is not a triumph of the status quo — it is an indictment of rural road and healthcare infrastructure that remains fragile under predictable monsoon stress. Gujarat's 108 service deserves its praise, but the harder question is why, in 2025, a village in Jamnagar district still has no all-weather access road. Chief Minister Patel's social media commendation is welcome; a concrete commitment to last-mile connectivity in flood-prone talukas would be more durable.
NationPress
8 Jul 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
What happened in the Jamnagar 108 ambulance delivery case?
A 108 ambulance team safely delivered a baby at a woman's home in Kotda Bavisi village, Jamjodhpur taluka, Jamnagar on 7 July, after heavy rainfall made roads impassable and the ambulance could not reach the house. The mother and newborn were then carried nearly 500 metres through mud by the team and local villagers to reach the ambulance, before being taken to Jamjodhpur Sub-District Hospital.
Who were the 108 ambulance team members involved?
Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) Hasmukh Sagathiya and Pilot Kamlesh Kantariya responded to the emergency call and conducted the on-site delivery. Programme Manager Manveer Dagar of 108 Jamnagar credited their timely response for the safe outcome.
What did Gujarat CM Bhupendra Patel say about the incident?
Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel praised the 108 team in a post on social media platform X, calling the service 'a lifeline for citizens during medical emergencies.' He also extended his best wishes to the mother, the baby, and the family.
Where were the mother and newborn taken after the delivery?
After being carried through the mud to the waiting ambulance, both the mother and newborn were taken to Jamjodhpur Sub-District Hospital, where they were referred for further treatment and medical observation.
Why is this incident significant for rural healthcare in Gujarat?
The case highlights the recurring challenge of last-mile emergency healthcare access during Gujarat's monsoon season, when roads in remote villages — particularly in Saurashtra and Kutch — frequently become impassable. It has renewed attention on the need for better all-weather rural road connectivity and pre-positioned emergency medical resources in flood-prone areas.
