Auto driver’s swift, timely help ensures Pollachi woman has a safe delivery

Also, prompt and quick thinking by auto driver A Vellingiri from Thoppampaty led the woman mother and baby to avail on time medical treatment at Kanjampatti primary health centre.

He was returning after a drop at Ponnupalayam village, when a few villagers signalled him to stop the auto to take a pregnant woman to the Pollachi GH on Tuesday.

“Within a few minutes after boarding the auto around 4pm, the pregnant woman went into severe labour. I was too scared as the pregnant woman was writhing in pain and three other women accompanying her screamed out that the baby’s head had already begun to pop out,” he said.

By then, the auto had gone barely about two km and around seven km was to be covered to reach the GH. “The traffic on the road was extremely heavy and I realized it would take a long time to reach the GH. Therefore, I didn’t want to take a risk and turned my auto to Kanjampatti Primary Health Centre located just a few kilometers away. I took a short cut and reached the hospital by around 4.20 pm,” he said.

The woman, by then, had delivered a boy baby. “With the assistance of nurses and their assistants, the baby was taken safe by removing the umbilical card in my auto parked at the hospital premises. I was told that both the mother and baby were safe. They all thanked me profusely and I left while refusing any charge,” he said.

The overjoyed auto driver says that he was God sent to the Ponnupalayam village as there no auto or car was available on hire in this rural neighbourhood.

“The villagers had to travel a few kilometers to hire vehicles from Udumalpet- Pollachi Road even during such emergencies. I am extremely happy as everyone is praising me for my selfless act,” he said.

The incident has come to light after the video of the hospital staff assisting the delivery inside the auto went viral in social media.