Rural areas of Ramnagar worst hit in times of corona: Harsh Dev
Ramnagar, 27-05-2021: Alleging collapse of health infrastructure in rural areas, Mr. Harsh Dev Singh Chairman-JKNPP and former Minister called upon the govt to depute adequate staff to rural areas besides providing sufficient stock of essential drugs and other life-saving devices and equipment. He emphasized upon the need to establish helplines and deputing of mobile medical teams to address the issues of the defunct health care system in villages/Panchayats. He said that the establishment of Panchayat level Covid care centres and frittering away of Panchayats funds for their creation had only proved an exercise in futility in the absence of support staff, medicines, ventilators and even arrangements for food and other essential drugs. He was interacting with local masses while distributing ration and relief among the poor people in Kaghote Panchayat of Ramnagar constituency.
Expressing concern over the collapse of the health care system in Ramnagar constituency in particular, Mr. Singh revealed that several dispensaries and health centres had become non-functional and closed down due to the non-availability of any staff. The Health institutions which had closed down in Ramnagar included Khaned dispensary besides Health at Kadwa, Playee, Jagwal, Garh Samnabhanj, Ukhral as not a single health official was posted in any of the said institutions. Besides several health centres were being run by Class-IV and Safai-Karamcharis with none to take note of despite repeated calls. He said that despite the matter having been brought to the notice of Lt. Governor personally by him, the concerned authorities had failed to awaken thereby revealing their contempt and disdain for rural areas inhabited by poor people.
Pointing towards the govt’s proposal of installing oxygen plants in various CHCs, PHCs, and other health institutions, Mr. Singh lamented that the Ramnagar constituency had been disregarded yet again. It has been omitted from the list of health institutions where such facility was to be provided despite it having been declared as amongst the worst afflicted zones and having been included in the Red zone category. He sought installation of such facility in CHC Ramnagar, PHC Majalta, and PHC Basantgarh on priority.
Not only had Ramnagar been deprived in the matter of health facilities, but equally deplorable was the plight of other essential services. Acute shortage of potable drinking water, frequent power outages and pilferage of ration had created massive resentment amongst the rural folk.
Alleging massive corruption in the PHE Deptt now renamed as Jal Shakti Deptt, Mr. Singh divulged that despite crores of rupees having been spent in records during the past few years, the new water supply schemes were nowhere in existence. The earlier schemes operationalized several years back had become defunct with hardly any action taken to restore them resulting in an acute water crisis in the majority of the villages of the constituency.
Mr. Singh revealed that during his tour of various remote areas villages in the last few days, the people had come out with serious complaints of water shortage with none in the Deptt to listen to their woes. The crises was more pronounced in the villages of Marta, Bassi, Prey, Badhal, Kaghote, Bhatyari, Kathil Dangu, Paletar, Chani, Jagwal, Do bad, Kanah, Panj Grain, Ser Manjla, Badhole etc with authorities concerned turning a deaf ear to the shrill cries of the public. At several villages, the people complained that not a single official bothered to visit their villages for months together and none entertained their complaints. Seeking ACB probe into the working of PHE sector in Ramnagar during the past 4-5 years, Mr. Singh sought a thorough investigation into the works executed on the ground vis a vis funds expended in papers. He further regretted the non-payment of wages to PHE workers for months and years resulting in severe hardships for their families.
Calling upon the SDM Ramnagar to personally monitor the supply of ration to BPL families who were not only being deprived of the actual scale of ration prescribed for them but were being provided poor quality and rotten material as reported by several villagers. Not only the pilferage of civil supplies was required to be looked into but ration was needed to be provided in various remote areas at doorsteps wherein people were facing problems of transportation and movement due to the corona pandemic. He called for regular visits of field staff to various villages to make a continuous assessment of the problems of remote area people so that appropriate measures could be taken to provide them the requisite relief during the ongoing pandemic.
