PUDUKKOTTAI: Residents of a village near Alangudi could soon have their first hospital with a retired headmaster donating land to the State government to construct a Primary Health Centre (PHC). Access to healthcare was a distant dream for the 4000-pus populace of Kulamangalam North and the nearest PHC was 8 km away in Keeramangalam, and the GH 14 km in Aranthangi town. Although Kothamangalam PHC is nearer(6 km), due to bad roads, villagers go to Keeramangalam.
The situation is set to change. M Saravanam, 74, who retired as headmaster of a government school in Kothamanaglam, stepped in to develop his native, Saravanan donated half an acre towards building a PHC in Kulamangalam. The market value of the land is approximately Rs. 15 lakhs. The registration was completed recently. "There is no government-owned land and the panchayat appealed to villagers to donate land. We owned a patch of land near our house, and my father rose to the occasion. It is not new to my family. My grandfather donated land to construct the panchayat office in the 70s," said Raja Athimoolam, Saravanam's son.
"Ours is a remote village and that lacks public transport. There is just one bus in the morning and one in the evening to our village. During emergencies like pregnancies, we rush to Keeramangalam in private vehicles," added Raja.