KOCHI: At long last, the tribal community's pleas for a public health facility in Kuttampuzha has been addressed with the Health Department's Ayurveda-Siddha dispensary commencing operations in the region on Tuesday. The dispensary started functioning at Kalelilmeetu .
Presently, the dispensary has the services of a doctor and assistant and the OP facility will be available from 9 am-3 pm on all working days. Later on, the number of doctors and other staff will be increased.
It was due to the efforts of Kothamangalam MLA Antony John, who raised the issue in the Assembly, the proposal received the government's nod. Quite rightly, the MLA was given the honour of formally inaugurating the dispensary. A medical camp was organised on the occasion and several members of the tribal community took part.
According to a District Information Office (DIO) communique, there are over 270 tribal households at Thera, Variyam, Thalvachapara and Kunjipara in the colonies situated in Kuttampuzha panchayat. Until now, these households had to rely on the primary health centre(PHC) at Kuttampuzha or hospitals in Kothamangalam which are situated afar. Those needing urgent medical help had to be carried on foot from these colonies. During the monsoon, things become even more terrible as the torrent from the Pooyamkutty inundates the region, cutting off the colonies from the outside world.