Will the BJP-led government help Independent Velim MLA Benjamin Silva by fulfilling the long-pending demand of setting up a Rural Medical Dispensary (RMD) at Cutbona? That is the question everyone in the area is asking.
Velim and Cutbona villagers have been demanding a RMD at Cutbona to help villagers and migrants working on fishing boats. Silva, who is supporting the government has backed this demand but despite several applications the Health Department has no shown interest in setting up the facility at Cutbona. Velim constituency comprises the village panchayats of Assolna, Chinchinim, Ambelim. Chinchinim comes under Balli Primary Health Centre (PHC) and there is no PHC at Velim. There is only one sub centre and one RMD in the entire constituency.
Cutbona has become a sensitive locality as far as health problems are concerned. A major problem is the outbreak of diseases like malaria, dengue and other vector borne diseases leading to deaths due to dengue and malaria.
Cutbona attracts migrant labourers it being a fishing hub. The new fishing season will start next month and the migrant workers will begin arriving soon from Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Orissa, Karnataka and other states.
The migrants have to be provided with health cards and undergo regular checkups through the RMD but there is no medical facility for this. Villagers at the gram sabha had raised this issue of a RMD and health cards but have failed to get a response from the authorities. The government has promised to fulfill this demand before the new fishing season but it appears this will remain just a promise.
Health department sources claim there are no doctors available to start a new RMD and some RMDs have been closed down due to lack of doctors.
Sub centres and RMDs in Cuncolim, Veroda and other places are running without doctors or are open only once or twice a week. In such conditions, officials claim, it is difficult to start a new RMD at Cutbona. Balli PHC is overloaded they have to cater to patients from Cuncolim, Fatorpa, Balli, Morpilla, Subdolem, Ambaulim, Assolna, Velim and other villages.
There has also been a demand to upgrade the Balli PHC. Cuncolim MLA Rajan Naik, Velim MLA Benjamin Silva and Quepem MLA Chandrakant Kavlekar had demanded this upgradation to give it a status of Community Health Centre as there was a demand to set up more sub centres and RMDs. For this the government has already constructed a hospital building but it is being underused.
