GUWAHATI: It was virtually a hospital on wheels that meandered into Gandhigram in the remote Vijaynagar circle of India’s easternmost Changlang district in Arunachal Pradesh on Saturday.
The locals were awestruck at the sight of the 12-vehicle convoy. It came carrying 60 medical personnel, including 25 doctors, and equipment for a health camp.
The Vijaynagar circle, located on the Myanmar border, remained cut off from the rest of the world for decades together due to communication bottlenecks. Chopper was the only mode of transport. Now, there is a 157 km road from the nearest Miao town to Vijaynagar. It traverses the Namdapha National Park and Tiger Reserve.
Gandhigram, located some 135 km away from Miao, has just one health sub-centre, manned by a nurse. Not many locals visit it, for they rely on traditional medication. The few who do, are examined by the nurse, who also provides them with medication.
District Magistrate Sunny K Singh told this newspaper it was not just a health camp but a “hospital aapke dwar.” He said the team carried equipment for ECG, ultrasound, CBC (complete blood count), and ENT tests and conducted some minor surgeries.
“A hospital was taken to the place. The doctors identified 15-20 cataract patients. Some patients were bedridden, so the doctors examined them at their houses and gave them medicines. The family members were also counselled,” Singh said.
He said the locals have been for years using makeshift stretchers to take patients to the nearest primary health centre in Vijaynagar, 22 km away. It is managed by an NGO and has one doctor. The problem compounds the villagers when he is not in the station.
There are some villages beyond a river in Gandhigram and the medical team provided them with stretchers.
“The villagers were very happy that so many doctors went together to take care of their health. Some had never availed of healthcare services. In fact, there were some who saw doctors for the first time on Saturday,” Singh said.
The second health camp was organised in Vijaynagar on Sunday. The medical team had doctors from Arunachal as well as Assam. The state government purchased medicines for Rs 10 lakh for the two camps.
Two years ago, the BSNL launched its mobile and 2G Internet services in the Vijaynagar circle – home to the Lisu tribe – but one will get through only if lucky.
Yolisa Yobin, a tour operator from Gandhigram, was in Assam’s Tinsukia on Saturday and this reporter managed to talk to him.
“Access to healthcare services is an issue in our region. The road is now doing us a world of good. Earlier, we used to send the seriously-ill patients to Assam using the chopper service from Vijaynagar,” he said.