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Express News Service
BHUBANESWAR: After the Bondas of Malkangiri, Dongria Kondhs of Rayagada, and Khadias of Mayurbhanj, yet another Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group (PVTG) – the Paudi Bhuyans – of Sundargarh is in the grip of Covid-19. Officially, 33 new cases of coronavirus infection have been reported in the hilly and inaccessible villages of Mahulpada and Dalaisara gram panchayats (GPs) under Lahunipada block of Sundargarh district, home to Paudi Bhuyan (hill dwellers) and Gond tribals besides, Dalits.
The infection came to fore in Tasada village under Mahulpada GP last week when two persons visited the nearest PHC complaining of fever. After receiving reports of many others showing symptoms like fever, cold and cough, the Sundargarh administration on May 15 sent health officials who conducted rapid antigen tests of 200 people of both the GPs and found 33 of them infected.
Alleging underreporting of the cases, Sarpanch of Mahulpada Golap Nayak claimed that 70 people of both the GPs were found positive – 49 in Mahulpada and 21 in Dalaisara GP on that day. A rapid response team (RRT) provided Covid kits to all the infected persons and asked them to remain in home isolation.
No Healthcare, No Monitoring
However, in absence of monitoring of isolation protocols (door-to-door screening) and healthcare facilities, the village leaders are apprehensive of widespread transmission of the deadly coronavirus among the vulnerable tribals. Till Wednesday, the two ASHA works working in the GPs did not have medicines, thermal scanner or a pulse oximeter.
While Mahulpada has 11 villages under it, there are nine villages under Dalaisara, both having a population of over 10,000. All the dwelling units in the GPs are small mud houses with no toilets or single-room Indira Awas Yojana (IAY) houses, which do not allow home isolation. Besides, open defecation is rampant and a majority of the villagers use common bathing and drinking water sources in both the GPs.
There is no mobile connectivity and no Covid care facilities in the vicinity with the nearest designated hospital being at Rourkela, 120 km away, which makes it difficult for them to reach out for medical help in case of emergency. Apart from Mahulpada PHC, there is a block hospital at Lahunipada and a Sub-divisional hospital at Bonai but these have not been designated as Covid Care Centres (CCCs) and neither of the facilities have oxygen facilities.
“Door to door screening of patients to check if home isolation protocols are being followed has not been started yet. And going by the current situation, these infected tribals cannot receive immediate medical help if their oxygen saturation dips”, said former sarpanch Saubhagya Prasad.
Sarpanch Nayak, who wrote to the Sundargarh Collector Nikhil Pavan Kalyan on Wednesday seeking his intervention, demanded converting the Mahulpada PHC as a CCC with oxygen and medicine facilities. “The residential schools in the GPs can be used for institutional isolation of the infected tribals. Unless we do that, there is every chance that the infection will rapidly spread throughout the villages”, she said, adding that the situation needs to be monitored every day.
Test Hesitancy Among Tribals
Despite having symptoms, the Sarpanch informed that not many are coming forward for tests. For example, none from Tasada village where symptoms were first reported showed up for Covid test on May 15. Activists said there has been a breach of trust between the tribals and State government because the former has long been deprived of healthcare and other facilities.
“They do not trust the government or people from the plains. And it is difficult to build this trust overnight”, said Akhil Mohanty, an activist working in the GPs, adding that the tribals are still not convinced about the severity of the disease and government’s efforts to contain it. According to the vaccination data from CoWin portal, 5,509 people of Lahunipada block have been vaccinated so far and when it comes to Mahulpada PHC (which caters to both Mahulpada and Doleisara GPs), the number of people who have taken the jabs is only 732 so far.
Sundargarh Collector asserted that in the next few days, the entire Paudi Bhuyan population in Lahunipada block and others will be tested. Besides, a common isolation facility has been identified to house the infected persons where medicines and food will be provided. “The RRT will be visiting the villages every day to check on the infected patients’’, the Collector told TNIE, adding that he will also be visiting the GPs after all the residents are tested. Like the Bondas, Dongrias and Khadias, the Paudi Bhuyans were also unaffected in the first wave of Covid-19.
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