NUAPADA: It has been quite sometime since one-year-old Shankar Majhi of Soseng village in the Maoist-infested Sunabeda Wildlife Sanctuary in the district has been afflicted with cough and cold. Absence of health services has forced his mother to opt for traditional healing methods. Today, he moves around with mustard seeds tied in a cloth around his neck. But it has been of little help. The state of affairs at the village belie the State Government’s tall claims of improving health facilities through NRHM in the interior pockets. The Additional PHC at Sunabeda village neither has a doctor nor a pharmacist and even the two ANMs posted here do not turn up leaving the patients in the lurch. It’s the Maoist fear that keeps them away from duty. Now, it’s left to the two attendants, Lalu Majhi and Chandra Majhi, who treat patients. The only silver lining is the availability of an ambulance and a driver, which comes handy for transporting patients to Nuapada district headquarters hospital, about 70 km from here.Aware of the problem, Special Officer of Chakutia Bhunjia Development Agency (CBDA) Himanshu Mahapatra said a youth Kamlakanta Bag of Gatibeda village, a Plus Two Science pass-out, had been identified for pharmacy training. Similarly, two girls Chandni Chatria and Jemani Jhankar, Matriculates, will be sent for ANM training, he added.District Collector Janaki Ballav Mishra said efforts were on to employ locals in the Additional PHC. However, he was mum on the doctor and other staff posted there, who continue to draw salary without visiting the village.
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