Team Herald
SANGUEM: Netravali villagers including those from the hilly areas of Verlem, Tudov and Salgini have been demanding the upgradation of Rural Medical Dispensary (RMD) to Primary Health Centre (PHC) since the past many years.
“The panchayat has even placed this demand before the government. However, nothing has happened till date forcing the villagers to suffer with regards to healthcare facilities,” said Deputy Sarpanch Abhijit Dessai.
“The post of a full-time doctor at the RMD has been vacant for the last many years. The dispensary is functioning under Sanguem Primary Health Centre, but the doctor is available only for two hours a day, which hardly serves the medical needs of the villagers,” claimed Dessai.
“During emergencies, the villagers are forced to travel 35 kilometres to reach the nearest Primary Health Centre at Sanguem. The situation is all the more worse for those residing in the hilly areas of Verlem, Salgini and Tudov, who have to cover an additional distance of 18 kilometres to reach the PHC due to the bad route. And to make matters worse the journey becomes more difficult during the night in the absence of proper streetlights,” he informed.
“With no help coming from the government for deputing of a fulltime doctor in the village, the locals under Netravali Aryog Dham have got one regular doctor in the village,” informed Dessai and added that the doctor who charges a nominal fee is provided with accommodation facility in the village by the locals.
Dessai said, “There are three heath centres at a distance of seven kilometres each at Sanguem, Curchorem and Quepem besides a couple of private hospitals. However, the villagers from Netravali, Kurdi Wadem, Kavrem Pirla and Villian have to cover long distances to avail proper medical aid. The situation turns worse during emergencies. The lone solace for the villagers is the 108 ambulance service.”
A villager Amit Naik raised concerns over the Government’s failure to open a hospital in Wadem during the rehabilitation of Selaulim evacuees.
“Despite assurances and even after the construction of a full-fledged premises to house the hospital, the government failed to open the healthcare facility in Wadem leading to the premises collapsing on its own,” informed Naik.
Naik said, “There is an urgent need to upgrade the existing Rural Medical Dispensary in the village to benefit the villagers, which the Government should consider on priority basis. In case of emergencies and accidents, patients undergo lot of trauma and pain before reaching the nearest PHC for medical aid.”
Another villager Manoday Phadte claimed that the villagers’ demand for an upgraded health centre in the village has remained unfulfilled for many years. It is the need of the hour given the remoteness of the village as there is no private dispensary or hospital in close vicinity.
Netravali Aryog Dham is presently looked after and managed by Prashant Gaonkar, Dr Mahesh Verlekar, Shrikant Verlekar, Bhiku Kalmo, Abhijit Dessai, Vijaykant Gaonkar, Surendra Chari, Subhash Velip and Dhananjay Bhandari.
