Poor medical facilities, no COVID vaccination in Bihar's Maner
May 16, 2021
Patna (Bihar) [India], May 16 : Residents of Maner block, about 35 km from Bihar's capital Patna, said there is a lack of health facilities here and they are at the mercy of God amid the COVID pandemic.
According to villagers, the COVID infection has spread in the adjoining areas and many people succumbed to the disease. Villagers of Maner block say that there is no proper health infrastructure in the area and there are no facilities in the local PHC.
"No facility has been provided by the government. No mask distribution...no sanitization drive... nothing. There is no COVID testing facility and vaccination center. If someone falls ill and dies, no one gets to know whether the person is infected with COVID or not. People are resigned to their fate," Chaudhary Brahm Prakash, a villager told ANI.
Villagers told ANI that there is no vaccination centre in the village. And, even if there is a vaccination center away from the village, most of the time it remains closed.
A villager Chandan Kumar said there is no health infrastructure in this area and no testing facility. "Livelihoods have been disrupted due to the lockdown. If someone falls ill, where will he go for a COVID test?" Kumar said.
Another villager Kamlesh Kumar told ANI that many people in the neighbouring villages died due to COVID. "As there is no health facility, people are dependent on quacks. The Maner PHC remains crowded. People also fear that going there would invite infection," he said.
The COVID patients are getting their treatment somehow in the village itself. A villager said no quarantine centre has been set up in the government school and people are coming from outside and roaming around.
"There is no oxygen, no medicine in Maner PHC. There is even no toilet and facility for drinking water. If patients come, they refer them to Patna which is 50 km from here. Patients die on the away. This is the system here. Nor there is the availability of medicines. Every day 30-50 people die. The government has no record that these people are dying of COVID. I request Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Health Minister Mangal Pandey to pay attention to the poor people of Maner and provide necessary facilities," a villager Akhilesh Yadav told ANI.
Speaking to ANI, Dr Chandan Singh of Maner PHC said "If patients with COVID symptoms come here, we get them tested. For patients with mild symptoms, we give medicines. For critical cases, we refer patients to Patna Medical College and Hospital or NMCH. Due to the lack of staff, there are definitely some problems."
