From Our Correspondent
KHLIEHRIAT: Absence of public health services in Umkiang area comprising of more than 15 villages has badly affected the residents particularly the poor and the needy who cannot afford to travel all the way to Jowai or Shillong for their medical needs.
For five months now, the Primary Health Centre (PHC) at Umkiang has not been functioning thus depriving the people of medical services in the vicinity.
Non-functioning of the PHC, which is one of the basic functional unit of the public health services in the state, has created multiple problems for the people of Umkiang area. “The PHC and its three other health sub-centres located at Rattacherra, Huroi and Sunapur have stopped functioning since April last. People’s right to primary health care facilities have been violated”, the Chairman of Khyndai Shnong (Committee of nine villages), Umkiang area, Silent Sutnga said.
“Thank God there is no epidemic outbreak in the area, otherwise many precious lives would have been lost”, said JS Lamare, one of the Rangbah Shnong in the area.
It may be mentioned that in 2009, the Umkiang PHC was handed over to a charity organization, the Akhil Bharatiya Kishan Kalyan Samity (ABKKS), under the Public Private Partnership (PPP) mode. A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was also signed for a period of three years and the same expired on April last following which, another NGO, the Karuna Trust was supposed to be given the responsibility of running the PHC.
However, the villagers opposed the move and demanded that the Health department of the state government should run the health centre.
Sutnga also informed that in a general meeting attended by people from over 15 villages, the villagers decided to welcome the Karuna Trust under the condition that the government would assure proper health care services to the people. “We have experienced several anomalies with the previous NGO and we don’t want to face the same problem again”, the Rangbah shnong added.
Non-functioning PHCs have also been a concern in other parts of the state, especially Garo Hills.
