PALAKKAD: Even as the district administration is engaged in extravagant celebrations, marking four years of the LDF-led government's rule, the tribal communities of Parambikulam are suffering due to a lack of medical facilities.
The only Public Health Centre (PHC) serving 11 tribal hamlets in the area has been operating without a single doctor for over four weeks.
Due to this brazen neglect, even a fever could prove to be life-threatening for over 1,500 tribal residents, most of whom live at distance of 10-40 km from the defunct PHC.
With every sanctioned post from doctors to nurses to pharmacists, the health centre is now a ghost structure, offering neither care nor hope.
"It's an utter disgrace," fumed Kalpana Devi, president of the Muthalamada panchayat.
"This hospital was supposed to be the medical backbone of these tribal settlements. Today, not even a single health worker is present. There are no junior public health nurses or health nurses, no clerk, no lady health inspector, and not even a pharmacist. It is a complete collapse."
Thajudheen P, vice-president of the panchayat, painted a harrowing picture: "Pregnant women receive no check-ups. Children run fevers with no access to medicine. We have seen cases of intrauterine deaths and pre-term births go untreated. This is not just a failure -- it is criminal negligence."
Despite two sanctioned doctor posts, none of them have been filled. All efforts so far have been temporary, with even appointed doctors allegedly opting for leave or transfers immediately.
A senior official from the District Medical Office (DMO), requesting anonymity, admitted the uncomfortable truth: "No one wants to serve here. The remoteness, lack of infrastructure and absence of long-term planning have made this post a revolving door. Without decisive government action, nothing will change."
An urgent letter from the panchayat president to the DMO demanding immediate intervention has so far only elicited vague promises that the posts would be filled immediately.
The residents of the 11 tribal settlements, isolated by dense forest and poor roads, have no choice but to travel nearly 70 km to the Muthalamada Family Health Centre for serious medical needs.
With no public transport available, families are forced to shell out up to Rs 4,000 for private vehicle rentals, an impossible burden for the already impoverished communities.
Desperate, many now turn to Tamil Nadu's health services in Anamalai or unaffordable private clinics.
As ministers cut ribbons and make speeches celebrating the "people's government," the tribes of Parambikulam are left to suffer unheard, uncared for, and forgotten.