Villages in poor health, but no help at hand

Sanjeev Singh Bariana

Advertisement

Tribune News Service

Teja Rohela (Fazilka), August 13

A 12-year-old boy walking alone on the village street at the entry of the village turned back abruptly and stood right in front of The Tribune car, looking into the eyes of our driver. 

Shaking his head wildly, he continued to pose like a zombie till a faint smile appeared when a hand was extended towards him for friendship.

Five houses down the line lives Swarno who cannot walk for the past eight years.

A mere 10 yards away, a 61-year-old mentally unstable Jagir Singh is standing with shaking legs, looking at visitors with expectant eyes.

And a little distance away, mother of three-year-old Dilkurshaid is weeping. “He was perfectly normal till he was six months old,” says the mother.

Disturbing images of unattended human suffering give full credit to the noise that AAP leader Bhagwant Mann had raised when he had come here last year.

While the health authorities describe the health status here as satisfactory in response to a writ petition, there are many cases of peculiar body disorders in the entire border belt from Fazilka to Ferozepur.

Following a writ petition by advocate HC Arora in the Punjab and Haryana High Court, the Water Supply and Sanitation Department on May 13 had replied that water samples in Dona Nanaka, Teja Rohilla and Mahatamnagar did not have any arsenic or other metal content which caused deformities. The reason for poor health was something else.

Posts lie vacant

They also cannot deny an abysmally poor availability of doctors in the few mentionable clinics in the villages on the borders in both the districts.

In Fazilka, there are two dispensaries of the Health Department in the border villages of Hasta Kalan and Karni Khera. 

The post of medical officer in Karni Khera has been lying vacant since long. The woman medical officer of Hasta Kalan dispensary has been shifted on deputation to Civil Hospital, Fazilka, as the post of gynaecologist there had been lying vacant.

Ferozepur district has three primary health centres (PHC) in the border villages. Out of the nine sanctioned posts, seven are vacant. 

Poor have no say

Painting a picture of general neglect in state healthcare, Jaswinder Kaur — living in a dilapidated government building next to the veterinary hospital in Mahatamnagar village – said, “I could walk normally till three years of age. Today, I am 21, but have not received any help from the government. The poor have no say.”

Mukhtiar Singh, a former Sarpanch, took The Tribune team to his village, Dona Nanaka, to meet two physically challenged boys who “are only breathing. No one has come so far. Going by the political practice of coming and making tall promises only when there are elections, we are not expecting anything and anyone.”

Satnam Singh, Sarpanch of Chandiwala on the border of Ferozepur and one of the 23 villages beyond the Satluj, took The Tribune team to his village where two girls, less than 10 years of age, were seen dragging themselves in the compound of their house.

“I don’t know their names. They don’t have a mother to take care of them and their father has gone to Fazilka to earn a living for the family. These two are taken care of by the Almighty and by neighbours. Does the government have no role under such circumstances? I have met many officers in different departments, including health, but no one is showing me the way forward.”

Next in front of The Tribune team was an 80-year-old father virtually begging for help. His 55-year-old son Sohan Singh is lying on the bed in their ‘kutcha’ house and uttering incomprehensible sounds. Sohan was always a topper in his class till he fell ill suddenly. There is no one else in the family so the 80-year-old father is looking for a helping hand.

On the abnormal health problems in Teja Rohilla, Assistant Civil Surgeon Dr Rajesh Sharma said that after conducting two medical camps in April and May, two children were found afflicted with cerebral palsy, one with mental retardation and one with delayed milestone.

Drinking water samples taken many a times from different sources have been found fit for human consumption. No specific reason could be ascertained for the deformities.

Former Sarpanch Mukhtiar Singh, a resident of adjoining village Doña Nanaka, said, “My village too has cases of abnormal body growth among children. Even if we accept the government report that nothing is wrong, the government still cannot wash its hands of taking care of the needy.”

No medical facilities

The entire belt of Fazilka and Ferozepur has virtually no dispensaries on the border. The existing hospitals don’t have a doctor.

Most importantly, Fazilka and Jalalabad areas — represented by none lesser than Health Minister Surjit Kumar Jayani and Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal — have not been spared of the unavailability of doctoral resources. 

Residents in the border zone have no choice but to run to the nearby towns of Jalalabad or Fazilka during emergencies. 

But all four posts of specialists at Jalalabad are lying vacant. The hospital does not have a Senior Medical Officer. The district hospital at Fazilka does not have a pathologist, radiologist, surgeon, gynaecologist, orthopaedist, paediatrician and ophthalmologist. 

The services of the existing anaesthetist do not mean anything in the absence of a surgeon or gynaecologist.

All posts of specialists at Dabwala Kalan, Khui Khera, Ramsara and Bahavwala are vacant. Jodhabhaini, Fattu, Dharmusinghwala and Hazararamsingh in the Deputy CM’s constituency have no dispensary. Bhaini Dilwali, near Fazilka and surrounded by Pakistan on three sides, is dependent on BSF camps. 

No takers for border postings

Deputy Commissioner (Ferozepur) DPS Kharbanda said that very few doctors wanted to go to border villages. “The government has initiated the process to recruit 400 new doctors. We are making conscious adjustments in doctor deployment to areas where they are most needed.”

Ishra Rani, Sarpanch of Jodhabhaini village near Jalalabad, said, “We heard that the government was attempting to recruit 400 doctors for Rs 15,000 only. This is probably three times lesser than what a peon draws. Doctors being posted to rural or border areas need to be paid more and posted for a specific time.”

(Inputs by Praful Chander Nagpal)