Nungba CHC forced to function sans power supply Skeletons tumble out of Nungba CHC

By Our Staff Reporter
IMPHAL, Jul 22 : Even as the Government aims to transform India to a developed Nation (Viksit Bharat) by 2047, a Community Health Centre (CHC) in Nungba, Noney district carries on without electricity supply and instead has to rely on solar power due.
As part of their ongoing inspection drive of public health centres across Manipur, members of the Peoples’ United Youth Alliance and the Foothills Naga Coordinating Committee (FNCC) visited Nungba CHC today.
During the inspection, the teams found that the CHC has been relying on solar energy not as part of an initiative to promote renewable power, but because its electricity connection was disconnected nearly four years ago due to the non-payment of outstanding electricity bills.
Since then, the health facility has depended on its solar power system to run essential services.
However, while the solar setup has enabled the CHC to continue functioning, high-power equipment, including the X-ray machine, remains non-functional due to inadequate power supply.
According to CHC staff, a child was delivered at the facility by candlelight in the recent past due to the lack of electricity supply.
The CHC has three doctors, (one regular  and three contractual), along with eight nurses.
However, of the eight nurses posted at the facility, six were found to be substitute nurses.
Gaisinthuiliu, a resident of Kambirol who visited the CHC for treatment, said that Nungba CHC is the only healthcare facility catering to Nungba and several adjoining villages.
She said people depend on the CHC for treatment ranging from minor ailments to serious illnesses and childbirth.
However, she added that the facility lacks adequate doctors and nurses to meet the healthcare needs of the people.
She said the CHC does not have specialists such as a gynaecologist, physician, and paediatrician.
She further said that the X-ray machine and the oxygen plant at the CHC are non-functional due to inadequate power supply, while the ultrasound machine remains uninstalled.
FNCC convenor Akhiu Ngaomei said that the Health Department failing to ensure even a regular power supply to the CHC located in an interior village of a hill district is  disheartening.
He also stated that the CHC exists only in name, as it lacks adequate doctors and nurses.
Questioning whether the Government has authorised the deployment of substitute doctors and nurses at public healthcare facilities, Akhiu said they have come across several instances where doctors and nurses were drawing Government salaries without performing their duties.
He urged the Health Department to look into the matter.
Why are the Chief Minister and the Health Director refusing to deploy adequate staff at healthcare facilities in the hill districts ? he asked, adding that public healthcare facilities in Imphal have excess staff and some of them could be transferred to the hill districts.
PUYA general secretary Longjam Abothe said the Government needs to correct the manner in which public healthcare facilities in the hill districts are being administered.
He warned that the consequences of continued neglect of the people living in hill districts could be severe.
Saying that the condition of Nungba CHC is extremely poor, he said there is no purpose in having a Health Department if CHCs are allowed to remain in such a state.