Namita was forced to give birth on the side of road which has been destroyed in the rains.
For 28-year-old Namita Umang, the price of a rain-ravaged road between her home and a hospital 30 kilometres away in Assam's Cachar district, has been the life of a baby.
On Wednesday, when her family was rushing her to the Silchar Medical College and Hospital, unable to bear the endless bumpy ride, Namita had to give birth to her twins by the muddy and potholed road before she could reach the hospital. Only one survived.
The journey had involved travelling on the National Highway 53 that connects Manipur to Silchar. Recent rains in the area have turned most roads in the area to slush, while others have broken down in many places.
Non-stop rain for the last fortnight in Assam's Barak Valley region has badly damaged four crucial highways that connect Assam and the rest of India to Manipur, Tripura and Mizoram. Trucks are stuck in slush in many places, and in others much of roads have been completely washed away.
Trucks are stuck in many parts of the road, destroyed in the rains.
One of the worst affected roads is in the Hailakandi district. A half-a-kilometre of the National Highway 53 has been washed away.
The state of the roads have spurred angry protests. In the Silchar town on Wednesday, locals planted saplings on a road in the main part of town that's turned to mud and slush in the rains in an bid to draw attention of the authorities.
People say they are left with no option but to walk across the slush, sometimes with heavy luggage.
"The National Highway body has not carried out repairs. This road poses a threat to life and property. We are trying to do something about it from the local administration's side," said P Bora, a senior Assam government official in Hailakandi.
The National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation, which builds and maintains most of the roads in the area, could not be reached for a comment.