RAVINUTALA VILLAGE (KHAMMAM ):Ravinutala village in Khammam is not upbeat for Diwali this year. Locked houses, haggard faces and people with injection needles still bandaged to their hands welcome visitors to this village.
With as many as seven suspected dengue deaths in the village alone, and 20 cases from entire Bonakal mandal over the past 20 days, people of this village are now a panicky lot. Some are leaving their houses for safer options.
Meanwhile, doctors, though confirming that there is an alarming increase in number of dengue cases, said not all deaths are a result of the fever. They put the blame on the local RMPs and private hospitals. “Not a single person effected with dengue and treated at the local PHC has succumbed,” they claim.
In the midst of denials and blames, the villagers are the ones who are suffering the most. “Our relatives are not even attending the final rites at our houses. They are afraid to come to the village,’’ lamented Ajmera Satyavathi of Ravinutala village.
Locals preferring RMPs
Locals, while maintaining that they have a good doctor at the local PHC, prefer going to the RMP, who generally refers them to private hospitals. They first approach the RMP rather than the PHC, which is three km from their village.
Bonakal PHC medical officer Balaji said the only treatment for dengue is paracetamol and large amount of fluids. “However, the RMPs give pain-killers, anti-biotics and even injecting fluids. This is unnecessary and will only worsen the situation,’’ he said.
With no signs of the fever letting down, patients are then referred to private hospitals in Khammam where doctors are giving them platelets citing low count. The health department officials attribute this as a reason behind the abnormal rise in deaths in the mandal.
Failure of administration
The local administration is yet to awaken from its slumber. The surroundings in the hamlets and villages speak volumes about the state of neglect.
“There are no steps taken to see that water stagnation does not take place,’’ a doctor said.