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Health camp gets under way

KORAPUT: Basu Naik, a visually challenged old man from Bondaguda of Mastiput panchayat in Koraput block, held the hands of Hari Naik, a physically challenged old man from the same village, to set out from their village to meet the doctors in the mega health camp, which was inaugurated at Koraput on Sunday. Even though there was no money with them they had the hope that some way or the other they would reach the venue and one kind-hearted autorickshaw driver invited them to get into his vehicle.

However everyone was not so lucky as Basu and Hari to reach the venue without spending heavily. Judunga Jani, a tribal from Upper Kanti, a village on the top of hills in Semiliguda block and at a distance of more than 60 km from Koraput, had to walk carrying his 15-year-old physically challenged son on his shoulder to catch a bus at Semiliguda to reach the health camp at Koraput .

Even though the organizers of the health camp in Rayagada had provided transportation for helping poor people from remote areas to attend similar camp organized a few days ago, the organizers at Koraput however had made no such arrangements.

People had reached the place from far and wide in the district, by spending a huge amount of money but had to return almost empty handed, Manorama Nayak, a woman who had come from B-Singpur village said. There was nothing for her in the camp as she had expected to receive expert’s guidance on her illness. But with no specialist attending the camp as advertised by organizers, she had to leave the place disappointed.

The attending doctors too had faced limitations in prescribing medicines according to the requirement of the patients as they had to prescribe from the limited list of medicines, sources said.

Sanjay Samati, the six-year-old child of Sabita Samati, a widow and working as a maid servant in Nandapur, was referred to the medical college at Cuttack for further treatment. The little boy was diagnosed to have his both kidneys damaged. She was left to herself to get in touch with the authorities to get assistance from the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund. The camp was inaugurated by Giridhar Gamang, Koraput MP. He announced an assistance of Rs5 lakhs from the MPLAD funds for construction of a dormitory for attendants of patients in the district headquarter hospital.

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