S Henlly Phom
TUENSANG, MARCH 30
AN entire community has been living their lives in silent ignominy without a trace of governance in the folks. Residents of Shamator have been trying to manage their affairs voluntarily to have some visage of orderliness. But this is easier said than done as Shamator town and 26 villages under Tuensang district that was established in 1954 are devoid of any road worth its name. It also houses a Primary Health Centre (PHC) meant to address needs of 26 villages in the absence of a hospital. The Right to Life also means the right to health facilities. But here these rights are outrightly denied as the PHC functions without a doctor despite one being attached to it. Instead the nurse is facilitating overall functioning of the PHC as a doctor has never been in station.Adding salt to injury even the nurse is a substitute as the nurses assigned duty have never reported for duty preferring to remain in their hometown.
Talking to Eastern Mirror the nurses described their challenges and difficulties, They said that the manpower at hand was insufficient to address the needs of the patients and wanted the PHC to be upgraded to a Community Health Centre (CHC). They argued that a CHC only would so that they get facilities according to the population. The second PHC of Chessore Village under Shamator town is no lesser with no doctors for the past five years. The folks of Chessore lamented that let alone the nonexistence of doctors, the PHC is said to be without a proper infrastructure which has been abandoned. They also ruled that no doctors are ready to be stationed in Chessore even after being offered handsome salary because of the non accessibility of resources and poor connectivity.
The health sector is being managed by the community of Shamator town as they do not receive any funds from the concerned authority. The ambulance of PHC acts as a source of income to manage the health sector and adding on to this woe, the PHC is said to be without a doctor. Seeing this need the community are said to have appointed a driver and the Village Health Committee (VHC) with joint efforts from the community had made a resolution where charges from the patients through usage of ambulance will be made use for maintenance of ambulance and for driver’s salary. Because of the deplorable road condition and remoteness, the charges are high depending on the kilometre they travel which also holds back the underprivileged families.
How far can a person put up with the torment they go through for existence? Their suffering does not end with the poor functioning of health sector but with the lifeline of health, the basic need of survival is also deprived of. Shamator village have been existing without water for the past 40 years. A senior citizen who has never experienced the comfort of availability of water rued that children along with elders have to spend their day and night sitting beside the pond and wrecked pipe lines to obtain a few drops of water. This is the life that they have been leading since time immemorial and their plea to the concerned department have been in vain.
Chessore Village council chairman also lamented that most of the village chairman’s refuse to attain developmental meetings because their grievances are never taken into contemplation leaving them dejected and unwanted.
The Government Middle School of Wapher Village under Shamator town was established in 1965, where school executives keeping the prospects of children began taking the responsibility of constructing a hostel. But without funds the hostel is said to be underway through contribution from parents, student’s body and Village Education Council (VEC).
This was told by people of Wapher village during an inspection to the school by the Eastern Naga Students Federation (ENSF) Officils.
In fresh account, the school management team in conversation with said that with no choice left the , the students are send home for their food but return to sleep and study.
