Source: Editor/The Sangai Express
Imphal, November 07:
Ignorance coupled with poverty can be an undesirable combination but add Government apathy and negligence to this and it can prove lethal.
Seven year old Puilinbou from a sleepy hamlet in Tamenglong district's Arompa village is a victim of this lethal combination.
Today the young child cannot see and as Opthalmologist Dr Y Yaima, HoD of JN Hospital put it, there is not much chance that the seven year old kid will regain his eye sight.
The reason, the cornea has been perforated and punctured beyond healing point.
It was due to an infection which slowly ate away the cornea of the little boy.
An orphan, Puilinbou's father passed away in 1997 and his mother left for her maternal home shortly after.
The onus of bringing up the child fell on the elder brother of Puilinbou's deceased father.
Well what has an ailment of the eye got to do with ignorance, poverty and most of all Government apathy and neglect? The answer is simple.
Ignorance in the first place means that the elders of the family were not aware enough to take the child to a medical expert on time and secondly poverty means that they do not practically have the resources to treat their sick and ailing children.
However what is most galling is the point that today this seven year old kid may remain blind for the rest of his life because of the inadequate health facilities at Tamenglong district headquarters.
As the kid's uncle put it, "We are poor people.
Coming to Imphal means forking out Rs 100 per head for a one way journey by bus.
Put the other expenses together and at least we need Rs 1000 to come to Imphal for the treatment.
As a poor farmer, I do not have that kind of money." Welcome to Tamenglong district.
This district evokes images of backwardness in all spheres.
Lack of health facilities, educational facilities and other amenities that are needed to allow men to live like human beings.
The deplorable road condition has only made the lives of the villagers are all that more harsh.
Puilinbou managed to take the trip to Imphal courtesy the personal efforts of its Deputy Commissioner T Pamei, who arranged the transportation and bore the medical expenses.
It is also noteworthy that Dr Y Yaima refused to take any fees for the treatment of the child.
These are individual gestures but what is the Govt doing? Mr Chief Minister Sir, something should be done to address the problems facing the hill districts of Manipur.
Piulinbou could have been administered the necessary treatment if only Tamenglong district hospital had the necessary facilities and medical experts, an eye specialist, in this case.
And if this had happened, this story of a young child of 7 facing the daunting prospect of remaining blind would not have been written.
If there is even a remote chance of the child gaining his eye sight, then the good doctor has suggested that he be taken to Guwahati.