Gandhinagar, Oct 3 : The Gujarat State Human Rights Commission (GSHRC) has issued notice to the Narmada Collector and District Development Officer (DDO), asking them to explain why a pregnant woman had to be carried to a hospital while seated on a sling tied to bamboo shoots. A pregnant women of Mathasar village in Dediyapada tehsil was shifted to the hospital by her relatives in a makeshift stretcher since her village remains disconnected with the outside world during monsoons. According to sources, there are 22 more area women whose deliveries are expected this week. Shocked by this incident reported in local newspapers, NGO Ground Reality Foundation in Gandhinagar complained to the GSHRC against the violation of the expectant woman's rights, her health, and her dignity. Taking due cognisance of the complaint, GSHRC chief RR Tripathi issued the notice om September 23 and directed the officials to submit a detailed report within 20 days. "Under Clause 17 (1) of the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993, you are required to furnish a detailed report within 20 days of receiving this notice. If you fail to do so, the GSHRC will carry out due legal procedures against you. It should also be noted that, instead of sending report by a subordinate officer, we want you to send a detailed report signed by you and your clear opinion on this issue," reads the notice. "Even after 70 years of Independence, expectant women and other patients are forced to shift to hospitals in this most inhumane and primitive manner, which is a grave violation of not only their human rights but a serious health threat also. The village doesn't have a medical facility, nor a pucca road, due to which the woman was carried on a sling on her relatives' shoulders. I appreciate the notice issued by the rights panel and hope that strict punitive action will be taken against the Narmada officials for violation of human rights," NGO convener Pankaj Buch said. /IANS