Patient helped by BD Mishra
The patient who was helped by Arunachal Governor BD Mishra. Image credit - Northeast Now

Arunachal Pradesh Governor BD Mishra on Wednesday came to the rescue of a pregnant woman who was in dire need of immediate emergency assistance.

Tawang Maitree Diwas was organised by the citizens of Tawang and Indian Army at Tawang main ground on Wednesday.

While the martial arts demonstration by the Indian Army soldiers and cultural activities by the enthusiastic civil participants was on, Lumla MLA Jambey Tashi informed Chief Minister Pema Khandu about an expecting woman in need of immediate evacuation.

He also said that there will be no helicopter flight from Guwahati to Tawang for the next three days, and the patient’s condition could become critical if emergency help was not provided.

Governor Mishra who overheard the conversation on the dais asked the CM to prepare the patient to be sent in the helicopter he was travelling to Itanagar.

The Governor accordingly directed two officers from his entourage to be dropped from the helicopter to accommodate the patient and her husband.

However, the helicopter could not fly directly from Tawang to Itanagar due to lack of fuel and had to land at Tezpur for re-fuelling. After taking off from Tezpur Air Force Station, the pilot noticed a technical snag in the helicopter engine and the flight had to be aborted.

Concerned about the patient, Mishra requested the Air Officer Commanding of the Tezpur Air Force Station for another helicopter. He also sought an additional helicopter as the station did not have a helicopter to carry all the passengers.

The governor also arranged for an ambulance with a gynaecologist ready at Raj Bhavan helipad to take the patient without any loss of time to hospital. The patient underwent a successful emergency caesarean delivery at an Itanagar hospital.

The Governor has conveyed his best wishes to the mother and newly born.

Damien Lepcha is Northeast Now Correspondent in Arunachal Pradesh. He can be reached at: [email protected]