Of 1,324 Odisha patients "listed" for treatment, 483 die of chronic kidney disease

Counterview Desk
Odisha-based civil rights organization, the Ganatantrik Adhikar Suraksha Sangathan (GASS) has found that nearly 3% of the population of Narasingpur block in Cuttack district is suffering from chronic kidney disease. A note following it's spot inquiry in eight villages, prepared by Deba Ranjan, General Secretary, GASS, says that nearly one third of patients undergoing treatment die because of the disease.
The reason, says Ranjan, is that there is no medical care facility available in Narasingpur block, one reason why those who can afford go to Cuttack for treatment. A detailed report on the dire state of affairs will be published soon, he adds.

Text of the note:

A large number of people in all 157 villages of 33 Gram Panchayat of Narasingpur block in Cuttack district are continuously suffering from Chronic Kidney Diseases (CKD). Patients are also continuously dying because of lack of proper treatment.The Government of Odisha has closed its eyes from this epidemic like situation.
On November 17-18, 2017, a seven-member team of the Ganatantrik Adhikar Suraksha Sangathan (GASS), Odisha, visited eight villages of five Gram Panchayats of Narasinghpur block. The team members met nearly 80 CKD patients as well as family members of 20 people who died due to CKD.

Patients described their symptoms like swollen faces, legs and hands, nausea and vomiting. Most of them go to private clinics and government hospitals of Cuttack, 120 km far from the area. !any patients are unable to take medicines prescribed by physicians because of poverty. Even though they start treatment, due to such circumstantial reasons, their health situation is deteriorating. They need in an average Rs 3,000-4,000 per month for medical treatment.
In an average, every three persons in one hundred population is suffering from CKD in Narasingpur. The team got to know from medical staffs that in the last three years 1,324 patients were listed for treatment, and out of them 483 people have died of CKD. The local hospital is only providing iron and calcium tablets to all CKD patients.
So, most of the patients run to Cuttack just to save their life. Mumber private medical agents and private drinking water providers has mushroomed to make profit from the plight of the people. GASS will publish a detailed report on this issue in near future.
It is a pity that the government has not yet taken any concrete steps to bring a break to this epidemic-like situation. It is unbelievable that the government has not done any study to find its reason.
The Ganatantrik Adhikar Suraksha Sangathan, Odisha, demands that

the state government should constitute a team of doctors and public health experts and should come with a detailed study report to find its reason, and
the government should provide good health care to all patients.

Comments

World Bank clarifies: Its 26th rank to India not for universal access to power but for ease of doing business

By Our Representative
In a major embarrassment to the Government of India, the World Bank has reportedly clarified that it has not ranked India 26th out of 130 countries for providing power to its population. The top international banker’s clarification comes following Union Power Minister Piyush Goyal’s claim that India has “improved to 26 position from 99” in access to electricity in just one year.

Mental health: India's 95% patients "deprived" of medical care, treatment gap 70%

By Moin Qazi*
Among the many challenges India faces, the most underappreciated is the ongoing mental health crisis. Mental illness is actually India’s ticking bomb. An estimated 56 million Indians suffer from depression, and 38 million from anxiety disorders. For those who suffer from mental illness, life can seem like a terrible prison from which there is no hope of escape; they are left forlorn and abandoned, stigmatized, shunned and misunderstood.

Modi model? "Refusal" to build Narmada's micro canals, keep Kutch dry; help industry

By Medha Patkar*
This is the latest photograph of the Kutch Branch Canal (KBC) of the Sardar Sarovar, as of April 8! What does it show, expose, and what memories do you recall? Is it dry or dead? Is it a canal or a carcass of the same?

Bill Gates "promoting" GMO, Bt cotton, like cartels that have roots in Hitler's Germany

By Our Representative
World-renowned environmental leader and ecologist Dr Vandana Shiva has expressed concern that Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft Corporation, has joined the bandwagon of “a poison cartel of three" – Monsanto and Bayer, Syngenta and ChemChina, Dow and DuPont – all of whom allegedly have “roots in Hitler’s Germany and finding chemicals to kill people”.

Indian talc products contain "contaminated" asbestos structures, can cause cancer: Study

Counterview Desk
A recent study, using polarizing light microscopy, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), electron diffraction, and X-ray analysis on multiple over-the-counter Indian talc products for the presence of asbestos, has concluded that large quantities of body talc products are likely to pose a public health risk for asbestos-related diseases, especially for the cancers related to asbestos exposure.

Why are you silent on discrimination against Dalit jawans? Macwan questions Modi

By Rajiv Shah
Close on the heels of releasing his book in Gujarati, "Bhed Bharat", which lists 319 cases of atrocities against Dalits and Adivasis across the country over the last five years, well-known Gujarat Dalit rights leader Martin Macwan has shot an open letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, telling him the reasons why he does not want vote for the BJP.

Emergence of a rare Dalit teacher in IIT-Kanpur "disturbed" certain faculty members

By PS Krishnan, IAS (Retd)*
Dr Subrahmanyam Sadrela, a faculty member in the Department of Aerospace Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT)-Kanpur since January 1, 2018, and one of the rare Dalit members of the faculty in IIT group of institutions, is facing the threat of revocation of his PhD thesis, and thereby also jeopardizing his job and career.

Investigation shows Narmada downstream "seriously" polluted. Reason: apathy, greed

By Rohit Prajapati, Krishnakant, Swati Desai*
Our investigation regarding quality of water flowing in the Narmada river downstream of the Sardar Sarovar Dam (SSD), dated April 6, 2019, between 11.00 a.m. to 4.00 p.m. reiterates, what is commonly known now, that the Sardar Sarovar Project (SSP) is planned without considering its impact on the downstream Narmada River stretch of 161 kilometres, its ecology, biodiversity and fishery, and lakhs of people living close to and dependent on the river directly or indirectly. This, in turn, has led to its present disastrous state.

RTE in remote areas? Govt of India "plans" to close down 2.4 lakh schools

By Srijita Majumder*
The Right to Education (RTE) Act, 2009, came into effect on April 1, 2010, for the first time made it obligatory on the part of the State to provide free and compulsory education to all children from 6-14 years of age in India. The Act, despite its limitations, had progressive elements like neighbourhood schools, community participation, ban on corporal punishment, no detention, continuous and comprehensive evaluation and it hence it appeared that India was not far from achieving universal elementary education.

Election Commission suffering from worst-ever "credibility crisis": Ex-bureaucrats

Counterview Desk
In an open letter to President Ram Nath Kovind, a group of ex-bureaucrats have lamented ‘weak-kneed’ responses of the Election Commission of India (ECI) in the run up to the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. Citing various violations of the model code of conduct, and pointing towards how ECI has taken little action, the letter asks the President to tell ECI to “conduct itself in a manner where its independence, fairness, impartiality and efficiency are not questioned.”

Counterview

Search This Blog