PLIGHT OF WOMEN OF SUNABEDA VILLAGES

STORIES OF PLIGHT OF WOMEN OF SUNABEDA VILLAGES

Saturday, 01 August 2015 | AJIT PANDA | NUAPADA | in Bhubaneswar

Netri Chhatria of Junapani village did not avail the service of institutional delivery because she was unable to pay for the transport to visit the nearest CHC (Community Health Centre) at Komna located at a distance of 30 km from her village.  Junapani is one of the several remote villages located in the Sunabeda Plateau of Nuapada district.

Considering the distance and remoteness of the area, the Government has made provision for an ambulance to be placed in the panchayat headquarters, Sunabeda. But the CDMO has withdrawn that apprehending that the vehicle would be used by Maoists. “Such apprehension is rubbish,” say villagers. “Why don’t they keep the vehicle under the custody of the CRPF personnel posted here?” they ask.

Netri’s husband Hareram phoned the driver of the ambulance repeatedly to bring the vehicle to Junapani, but the driver answered that the ambulance needed repair. Hareram waited for a day with the hope that the ambulance would arrive after repair, but he got the same answer even after a day. Looking to the deteriorating condition of her wife, he requested ASHA workers to conduct the delivery. Without having any other alternative, ASHA workers took the responsibility and the child was born safe.

Janaki Chhatria of this village was, however, not so fortunate. Her child died in the womb. “The ambulance did not arrive, and we could not pay for private transport,” said her husband Jagatram. “ASHA worker Jamuna Bai brought the dead child out of the womb. There was a lot of bleeding and I left hope. She got better after Karan (a local quack) gave two injections and a saline,” added Jagatram.

For most of the women in Sunabeda, life goes like this. Their life becomes hell during their pregnancy and the childbirth. The Primary Health Centre (PHC) at Sunabeda remains close all over the year. The only hope is the ASHA, but in critical cases the ASHA is even helpless. The ASHA of Junapani village has conducted five deliveries in last three months at Sanbaheli and Junapani villages, out of which the case Janaki was critical. “Our Government boasts of programmes like Janani Suraksha and Mamata, but where are those?” ask villagers. In the above five cases, the women did not get the support of `1,400 each under the Janani Suraksha Yojana (JSY) as the deliveries were not institutional.

The provision of the Mamata scheme, where a support of Rs 5,000 is given to women in different phases, also eludes them. “All of them have been registered in the Anganwadi Centres, everyone has opened bank accounts under the Jan Dhan Yojana, but none of them were registered for the Mamata scheme,” said Tuna Chhatria of Junapani. “It is seer negligence of the ICDS department,” he added.

Such exclusion of deserving women under the Mamata scheme is not limited to Sunabeda villages only; it is found all over the district. Women of Kotipadar village of Khariar block have reported that seven women of the village have not got the benefit under Mamata, although they got registered in the AWC and submitted their account numbers for this conditional cash transfer scheme in time. “In Sinapali block, the level of exclusion under the Mamata scheme is more than 40 per cent,” says an official of the NRHM.

Villagers of Sunabeda had requested the district Collector and the CDMO, Nuapada, in a grievance to provide the ambulance. They were assured that the ambulance service would be resumed after the vehicle is repaired. “More than two months have passed, but the vehicle has not been repaired,” said Tuna.