Jhumpura: Healthcare facilities are reportedly unavailable to people in remote pockets of Keonjhar district, compelling them to seek sorcery and other unscientific methods of treatment.
A case in point is an Ayurvedic hospital in tribal-dominated Silisuan under Kandarapasi panchayat that has been locked for the last two years.
The healthcare institution assumes importance for poor tribal people of the region, but it has been paralysed in the absence of doctors.
The condition of several other Ayurvedic hospitals in the district is no different. The system has virtually collapsed for doctors’ shortage.
The Silisuan Ayurvedic hospital was set up two years ago with an aim of providing healthcare services to the poor.
Some locals like Prabhuchandra Nayak, Dasarathi Nayak, Bhaskar Nayak, Pura Nayak, Niranjan Nayak, Nirupama Nayak, Kamalini Nayak and Ratnakar Majhi had time and again drawn the attention of the health authorities, but no step was taken as yet to sort out the issue.
According to a report, there are 48 Ayurvedic hospitals in various rural pockets of the district, but only 21 Ayurvedic doctors have been appointed while several posts are lying vacant.
District Ayurvedic medical officer Dr Basant Nayak admitted that many Ayurvedic hospitals including Silisuan do not have doctors at all.
“The district Collector and the director of Ayurveda (Bhubaneswar) will be intimated about the doctors’ shortage issue,” he added.
