VELLORE: Relatives of a sick tribal woman from a hill hamlet near Anaicut on Monday carried her in a doli (palanquin) through a 3-km steep and rocky path to reach a private hospital. This is a regular occurrence for residents of Vellakal hamlet in Athiyur village panchayat as they regularly trek through treacherous paths to get to hospitals. This area continues to lack basic road connectivity and medical services.
31-year-old Soundariya fell ill and was carried on her relatives' shoulders to the nearby Kurumalai village. She was then taken to a private hospital 15 km away. "We don't have a road facility to our hamlet so, we often carry friends and relatives like this," C Kuppusamy, her relative, told The New Indian Express. He urged the government to at least pave a sand road to their hamlet, adding that the education of school children is severely affected by this.
The woman is fine now, Deputy Director of Health Services, Vellore Dr Banumathi said, responding to The New Indian Express's query. "The place doesn't have roads so it's difficult to access. Now, we set up a temporary sub-centre of a Primary Healthcare Center (PHC) at Kurumalai. Medical teams visit the place five days a week. Rashtriya Bal Swasthya Karyakram (RBSK) teams and Hospital on Wheels teams frequently visit the hospital," she said.
The remote hamlet in the Jawadhu hills can be reached from the Kurumalai village, which also lacks road facilities from the plains. Many tribal hamlets in the Anaicut region lack road connectivity and link roads, forcing the people to trek through dangerous routes to get access to medical services and schools.
A temporary PHC at Kurumalai in a government school became defunct as schools reopened after the pandemic, said Athiyur Village Panchayat President M Annamalai. He explained that road connectivity to the plains would solve the healthcare accessibility issue.
The PFC staff didn't visit Kurumalai since it is a continuous holiday, Collector Kumaravel Pandiyan told The New Indian Express. The Collector added there is a proposal to build a permanent PHC in the area.
"The work to lay roads to Kurumalai are ongoing but establishing link roads in the tribal hamlets from there is difficult as it involves the Forest Department's permission. There are other challenges like steepness and inclination. Four-wheelers cannot climb those roads but we're studying the feasibility from other routes," he said.
Earlier in July 2021, a 24-year-old pregnant woman Anitha from Jadaiyankollai tribal hamlet in Alleri near Anaicut was carried through doli for her delivery.