Amid strife, Manipur patients prefer Guwahati to Imphal for med needs

GUWAHATI:In the wake of the prevailing situation, people from Churachandpur district of Manipur are forced to travel 800km to Guwahati for medical treatment instead of capital Imphal which boasts of some of the best healthcare institutions in the state. Imphal is just 60km from Churachandpur — the heart of the ethnic flare-up, but the road to the capital has now become “untrustworthy” for the people of this hill district.Hundreds of people from the state’s hill districts deserted Imphal when the ethnic violence first erupted there more than three months ago.
Their lack of trust in people from the valley has only widened in this tumultuous period so much so that they don’t even feel safe in a hospital back closer home. A nagging lung infection brought 59-year-old Jacob Haokip of Puibong area in Churachandpur all the way to Guwahati earlier this week. Since hospitals in Churachandpur were not well-equipped for the treatment of his lung ailment, local doctors advised him to go to Assam. “Uncle Jacob was in Moreh for some work and rushed to Churachandpur when his health deteriorated. We travelled for 14 hours by road to reach Aizawl (Mizoram capital) and then flew to Guwahati on August 17,” said his attendant, Jojo Haokip, at Apollo Hospitals here. Sesei Haokip (21) has come to Guwahati for the treatment of his heart problem which was only recently detected. It went unnoticed for years but just when the violence was at its peak, he realised the need to go for urgent treatment.
Some of the well-off families from the hills have gone to Delhi for medical treatment, but they are small in number. Most of the patients cannot afford to go to other states considering the travel expenses and cost of treatment in private hospitals. “We referred some patients to cities like Guwahati but they could not go there due to financial problems. If they go to Imphal, they fear they will be hacked to death.
So they are suffering and struggling in their homes,” Dr Thanglal, who has been serving at the Churachandpur district hospital, said. The hospital is reeling from a number of problems such as shortage of medicines and lack of adequate specialist doctors. Memory lost and body paralysed after a mob attack using electric shocks in Imphal on May 4, the family of BJP MLA Vungzagin Valte decided to take him to New Delhi where he is showing signs of recovery. But his family is in no mood to bring the three-time legislator back to Imphal.