Praful Chander Nagpal
Fazilka, May 21
At a time when Covid-19 cases in the rural areas are skyrocketing, resentment is brewing among residents of a cluster of border villages falling across the Sutlej in Fazilka district over poor healthcare facilities.
Official sources said around 12,000 residents living in 15 villages across the Sutlej are forced to travel 15 km to Fazilka to get the jab or get tested for the virus in the absence of health facilities in their area.
Gurdip Singh, a resident of Retewali Bhain village, said he visited the town twice to get the jab but had to return empty-handed due to non-availability of the vaccine. “Hardly any testing or vaccination camp has been held in the area,” he claims.
Malkeet Singh, a resident of Mahatam Nagar village, who is also the former chairman of the Block Samiti, Fazilka, claimed there were several patients with Covid symptoms in the border belt and were getting treatment from quacks in the absence of medical facilities.
He alleged the only dispensary set up under the aegis of the zila parishad at Mahatam Nagar had been lying shut for over a decade for want of a doctor.
The affected villages include Teja Rohela, Dona Nanka, Ram Singh Bhaini, Jhangar Bhaini, Mahatam Nagar, Walleshah Hithar, Mansa Bhiwani, Mohar Khiva, Mohar Jamsher, Gatti Number 1, Dhani Sadda Singh, Ghurka, Noor Samand, Guddar Bhaini besides several villages in Jalalabad subdivision. Most of the villages are dominated by the Rai Sikh community.
Harbans Singh, resident of Walleshah Hithar, said no government department official had ever visited them to enquire about their well-being during the pandemic. He demanded a health centre to meet the needs of the villages.
Dr Parminder Kumar, Civil Surgeon, Fazilka, could not be reached for comment. Fazilka SDM Keshav Goyal said
Fazilka border villagers travel 15 km for jab
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