Using PHC ambulance for transportation of rice !!!
Source: Hueiyen News Service

Imphal, August 20 2013: It may be a common knowledge how people in the rural areas of Manipur are deprived of even the basic health care facilities due to absence of adequate health centres, but it becomes a serious matter when whatever available health care facilities in the existing health centres are being misused by the authorities concerned for their personal works and interests.

During a recent inspection visit of the Hueiyen Reach Our team, it was found out that the Community Health Centre (CHC) at Sagolmang, where people from the neighbouring villages including Yumnam Patlou are expected to get medical treatment, has not been providing medicines and other required facilities supplied by the State Government to the patients.

Yumnam Patlou is located at a distance of about 23 kms to north east of Imphal city and is under Imphal East district.

There is no health care centre in this village and the people of this village have to either go to Sagolmang CHC or proceed to Imphal to get themselves medically treated when needed.

Using PHC ambulance for transportation of rice

But the chances of getting the required medical treatment at Sagolmang CHC is practically nil for the people due to lack of adequate staff and infrastructures on the one hand, and misuse of the existing facilities by the staffs of the health centre, on the other hand.

Interacting with the Hueiyen Reach Our team, the villagers disclosed that even the ambulance supplied to the CHC by the Government is being used by the staffs for their personal works like transportation of rice.

So, the question of getting medical treatment or patients being carried in the ambulance in case of emergency cases is out of the picture.

Lack of water for drinking and other purposes is another problem being faced by the people of Yumnam Patlou.

When Team Hueiyen landed in the village, it was found that the villagers were having a hard time in trying to get safe drinking water.

A villager, who was found fetching water from the local pond, told Team Hueiyen that since the government does not provide tap water, the villagers of Yumnam Patlou are compelled to use water from the hand pumps, rivers or ponds.

The villager further informed that earlier the village used to get drinking water from the Sagolmang water supply even though quality of the water was not good at all.

But the water supply has been stopped for the last 15 years and the concerned authority has not done anything to make it functional, thus, leaving the people of Sagolmang and its surrounding villages with no supply of safe drinking water all these years.

The condition of the roads in Yumnam Patlou village was also found pathetic with potholes everywhere.

The black topping done on the main road of the village has not maintained the quality of the work and grasses started growing within a month of blacktopping, a woman of the village disclosed.

She also informed that the PDS items are also not provided to the villagers on regular basis.

Regarding educational facilities in Yumnam Patlou, there is one primary school and an aided primary school.

The aided primary school resembles a cow shed.

The few students studying in this school are found to have been shifted to Yumnam Patlou primary School where they are taught along with students of the primary school.

There are at present 30 students in the school and they are being taught by four teachers, two males and two females.

There are only two classrooms in the school and students of different classes are taught together in one classroom.

It was learnt that sometimes, the classes are also conducted in the teachers' room.

There are no toilets facilities in the school.

The wide field around the school is where the students head when they need to answer to the nature's call.