Habib Hossain was travelling home to Kurigram from Gazipur for Eid with his pregnant wife on a local bus on Tuesday. At the Bangabandhu Bridge intersection, the expecting mother’s water broke and she gave birth to a baby girl by the roadside.
Later, two nurses from Bhuapur Upazila Health Complex went to the scene in an ambulance and did primary health checks on the baby and the mother.
Senior Nurse Sajeda Khatun said: “The child was born before we could reach the spot. The mother and daughter have been given medical treatment. Both are healthy.”
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Habib Hossain said: “When my wife’s water broke, we brought her down from the bus to the side of the road. Meanwhile, someone from the bus called 999. She gave birth before the ambulance could reach us.”
Habib lives with his wife in Gazipur. He is a part-time rickshaw-puller and day-labourer. The couple have named their newborn daughter Sharani.
As of 12:45pm on Tuesday, vehicles had remained stationary for over six hours, since 6:40 in the morning, on the Bangabandhu Bridge as authorities closed the road at the toll plaza around that time due to excessive pressure of vehicles traveling for Eid.