The second wave of COVID-19 has hit India hard. At this crucial juncture, when there is a prevalence of test hesitancy and the virus ravaging rural areas, the Odisha government is yet to set up RT-PCR testing labs in most districts.
On 10 May, my father showed severe symptoms of COVID-19. As I started searching for the nearest RT-PCR testing centre(s), I came across many startling facts concerning the state’s abysmal healthcare system before getting the test done.
I live in Khatiguda, tucked away 35 km from the Nabarangpur district headquarters. I was informed that the only RT-PCR testing centre was at the district headquarters hospital, and it took about 4-5 days to get the results. Upon inquiring further, I learned that the swab samples are still being sent to Saheed Laxman Nayak Medical College and Hospital (SLNMCH) in the neighbouring Koraput district.
I had reasons to flip out at that moment. Exactly a year ago, swab samples from Nabarangpur district were being sent to SLNMCH, Koraput, when the state government set up a new RT-PCR testing lab over there.
After one year of the pandemic wreaking havoc, we are still awaiting a full-fledged COVID testing lab that reduces dependency on far-off hospitals, gives us results in a reasonably short time.
I can't stress enough why delayed results are a dangerous trend and accelerate the spread of the virus.
Most of the tribal-dominated districts of the state still don't have RT-PCR testing laboratories. Nabarangpur is just one among them, with five of its blocks sharing the border with neighbouring Chhattisgarh. However, for the state government, it is not a strong enough reason to set up an RT-PCR testing lab here.
During the first wave, testing labs were set up on a war footing basis. A total of 20 testing facilities (7 private) were set up across Odisha, but with the decline of the first wave, no new labs were added. On 11 May, the Odisha government finally woke up from its slumber and sanctioned Rs 20 crore to set up RT-PCR COVID-19 testing laboratories at 16 district headquarters. Not sure when, but Nabarangpur will finally have a testing centre.
Abysmal Health Infra in Poor Districts
Coming from a district with a record of dismal healthcare for years now, this is just a snapshot of the state government's apathy towards one of the poorest districts. Unlike urban India's social-media-literate people, residents here can't appeal on Twitter for help or show the ground reality. Even for the population that finds development in the capital city of Bhubaneswar as synonymous with the development of Odisha, Nabarangpur is still non-existent.
Five blocks of Nabarangpur share a border with Chhattisgarh, a COVID hotspot in the second wave. These blocks share socio-economic ties with the latter and are vulnerable to infections because of porous borders.
Although the district administration has sealed the borders, rural pathways still stand as a danger.
Blocks like Chandahandi and Raighar are approximately 90+ km, Umerkote and Jharigam are 60+ km from Nabarangpur. If the government thinks that people (mostly tribals) with few resources can travel to an urban centre for an RT-PCR test – only to get the results after five days – then I don't know what more lies ahead. There's no doubt that the government and the district administration have failed in bolstering the medical infrastructure.
That apart, healthcare facilities have always been abysmal in Nabarangpur. News reports on the internet can corroborate my claims. Even for a minor ultrasound scan, people either queue up at the overwhelmed Christian Hospital or travel to other places.
The sentiment on the ground is still the same as it was a year ago or, say, four years ago.
Recently, Nabarangpur MP Ramesha Chandra Majhi wrote to the Additional Chief Secy of Health department, PK Mohapatra, seeking more doctors in Chandahandi Community Health Centre (CHC), where a single doctor has been handling the health facility and looking after COVID patients at the three temporary medical centres (TMCs). On 19 May, he inaugurated 12 ICU beds and four ventilator beds at the district COVID hospital, albeit too late.
This a proof of the utter chaos in the district. The situation was always like this; the pandemic just exposed it a tad more.
A tweet of mine narrating the COVID situation in the district went viral, and people started sharing their experiences. A resident of Nabarangpur shared the following on the condition of anonymity.
I don't care if the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) government beautifies a temple corridor of the state, if it can't ensure basic healthcare infrastructure in the far off districts, where the resources are scarce to mitigate the threat, such PR stories praising the Odisha government only angers me.
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