Officials of village health and sanitation panel get first-hand account of problems at grassroots level The villages on the fringe of Vadodara now have a common platform for the first time to directly approach the administration with their issues.At a two-day Jan Samwad (public debate) in Dabhoi and Sankheda talukas, NGO Deepak Charitable Trust brought together the villagers and the responsible government officials of Village Health and Sanitation Committee to understand the grassroots level problems.Over 350 villagers from each taluka came together to voice their concerns and queries on issues of bad roads, poor condition of Primary Health Centres (PHCs), lack of proper water facilities, sanitation, the increasing infant mortality rate and poor education facilities in schools. “There are problems that we have been facing for years. It is not that we have not complained. But in the government office, we are just made to run from pillar to post,” said Pravin Patel, a school principal of Gundecha village under Sankheda taluka.The primary concern was that of the growing health issues and non-functional PHCs. Many of the PHCs are in a dilapidated condition without water, electricity, proper stock of medicines and even deputed nurses. “It has been over seven months now since the nurses stopped attending the PHCs at all. Even at other centres, nurses come only once a month when they should be there at least twice a week. Most patients go unattended during emergencies,” said Hetal Baria, a resident of Vardeli village in Sankheda.Almost all the villages face water problems due to non-functional hand pumps and improper bore wells. “The drinking water that we get in our village is not fit for drinking. And the regular consumption of hard water has led to kidney stones and dental problems,” said Urmila Panchal, Bodlav village, Sankheda.The lack of proper bus transport and road facilities in Dabhoi taluka agitated the villagers who accused the civic officials of having a lackadaisical attitude. “While the tribal areas still get some attention, the villages close to the urban areas lack it completely. While grants are allotted, the situation on the ground is different,” said Hargovind Patel, a taluka level project coordinator of Deepak Foundation. He added: “This Jan Samwad was an initiative to make the officials understand the villagers' problems and give them a platform to air their views and complaints.”
