Teenage girl dead due to no health workers in Tehrathum

BY OUR CORRESPONDENT

Tehrathum, Aug. 3: Despite a five-bed health center in the locality, a woman named Kalpana Khatri, a resident of Sakranti Village development Committee (VDC) of the district, died due to no health worker at the village health centre.

According to her family, she died on the way to the hospital in Phidim as she had difficulty in giving birth to a child. Kalpana, 20, was married to Tom Prasad three years ago.

Lying about 12 miles east of the district headquarters, the government established the health centre in the VDC 10 years ago. Since no health worker stay at the centre, many people have died because of unavailablity of health services in time.

"If there was even a single health worker, Kalpana would not died," says Hari Dhungel, a local resident. The Assistant Health Worker and nurse of the health centre were on leave.

As per the government’s policy to establish a health centre in each VDC, all the VDCs of the district have health centers.

There is also provision for a medical superintendent at the health centre of Sakranti VDC, but a peon has been doing all the works there.

There are four posts for medical superintendent-- one each in Sakranti and Basantpur health centres and two in the district hospital. But there is no medical superintendent in the whole district at present.

To fill one vacant post of medical superintendent in the district hospital, an Ayurvedic Dr. Yadu Chandra Ghimire was sent to the district hospital. But Ghimire has been staying in Kathmandu.

"We have requested the Department of Health Services and the Ministry of Health to provide us with doctors and health workers, as no doctor or health worker stays here," says Tulasi Dhakal, officiating chief at the district health office.

PPR disease claims 500 goats in Biratnagar

BY OUR CORRESPONDENT

Biratnagar, Aug. 3: About 500 goats died of PPR disease last week alone in various parts of Morang district, according to District veterinary office.

In order to control the disease, the veterinary office has started vaccination programmes in various VDCs of the district.

Dr. Ashok Kumar Singh of the office said that the office has plans to vaccinate more about 15,000 goats in different VDCs, which include Letang, Madhumalla, Budhnagar, Majhare, Banigama, Urlabari, Rangeli, among others.

Dr. Singh informed that the vaccination programme has been started to strongly fight the disease.

Started in two VDCs of the district in the initial stage, the diseases has spread to about 20 goats.

He further said that the office has been serious to stop the disease from spreading to other areas.

Diahrroea and fever are the initial symptoms of the disease.

"Once the disease catches the goats, they cannot be saved. The purpose of our programme is to stop the disease from spreading to other goats," he said.

He said that as the disease spreads fast, the concerned technicians have been mobilised in an effective manner so as to control the disease.

Last year, about 400 goats had died due to disease in Indrapur, Sundarpur, Rangeli, Letang, Pathari and Urlabari VDCs of the district.

Road project file seized in Sindhuli

BY OUR CORRESPONDENT

The District Administration Office of Sindhuli district has seized a file from Sindhulimadi Village Development Committee (VDC) as it suspected of corruption in the constructing of road linking Ranichuri with Bhimisthan of the district.

The road is being constructed at a cost of Rs. 4,00,000 received from District Development Committee (DDC) and Rs. 1,00,000 from MP's fund.

Fifteen labours had registered a complaint against the president of the consumers committee and the VDC executives alleging them of making duplicate receipts of the labourers' wages and embezzling the money while constructing the road.

''The file of the road project has been seized on the basis of complaint,'' said Ganga Prasad Luintel, CDO of the district.

The COD told The Rising Nepal that he did not have the authority to punish the culprits as the members of DDC decided to start the road project.

Giving hints about the corruption, Ek Lal Shrestha, member of the DDC, said ''The DDC Chairman Ramesh Karki, Vice-Chairman Hem Bahadur Lama and the DDC members had passed the file at the board meeting at 8 P.M.''