Sri Vijaya Puram, Aug 24: Residents of Hanspuri, a remote and cut-off village in North and Middle Andaman, continue to face serious challenges in accessing timely and adequate healthcare due to inadequate infrastructure, shortage of medical personnel and difficulties in emergency transportation.
The Hanspuri Health Sub-Centre, which serves the local population, has been described as being in need of urgent attention. The existing building and available healthcare facilities are reportedly inadequate to meet the medical requirements of the villagers, particularly during emergencies.
In this regard, the Pradhan of Gram Panchayat Chainpur, Mr. Johnson Kerketta, has written a letter to the Andaman and Nicobar Administration seeking immediate intervention for strengthening and upgrading the health facility. In his representation, the Pradhan has urged the administration to upgrade the Hanspuri Health Sub-Centre into a Community Health & Wellness Centre (Ayushman Arogya Mandir/CHWC) at the earliest.
The letter has sought the early appointment of a Community Health Officer (CHO) and a Male Health Worker at the centre to ensure adequate healthcare services for the local population.
The representation has also called for a technical inspection of the existing health-centre building, followed by necessary repairs or construction of a new building if required. It has further sought the immediate provision of essential medical equipment, medicines, electricity, drinking water, internet connectivity and other basic facilities.
The Panchayat has highlighted the difficulties faced by villagers in accessing higher medical facilities, particularly during emergencies. According to the representation, transportation to R.P. Hospital, Mayabunder, can take several hours, which may result in critical delays in receiving treatment.
The letter also referred to the objectives of the National Health Policy, 2017, which seeks to ensure accessible, affordable, equitable and quality healthcare services, with particular emphasis on remote, tribal and underserved areas. Given Hanspuri’s geographical isolation, the Panchayat has stressed the need to strengthen healthcare infrastructure in the village on priority.
The representation has further sought that the Hanspuri Health Sub-Centre be developed in accordance with the National Health Mission (NHM), Ayushman Arogya Mandir guidelines and Indian Public Health Standards (IPHS), with adequate human resources, medical equipment, medicines and infrastructure.
The Panchayat has urged the administration to treat the matter as one of urgent public interest and issue necessary directions to the concerned authorities so that the long-pending healthcare problems of Hanspuri can be resolved at the earliest.
