cancer XI

Tribune Impact
PSHRC seeks govt’s report on cancer-hit Malkana village
Rajay Deep
Tribune News Service

Bathinda, October 14
Taking cognizance of the plight of the cancer-hit Malkana village in Bathinda district published in The Tribune under the headline “Cancer-hit village a victim of govt apathy” on October 14, the Punjab State Human Rights Commission (PSHRC) called for a report of the state government.
Taking suo-moto notice, the PSHRC authorities recorded it as complaint number 12719/2/2009 and called for a report from the state government through director, Health and Family Welfare, Punjab, and Civil Surgeon, Bathinda.
The four-member bench of the PSHRC has also asked the principal secretary, Health and Family Welfare, Punjab, and director, Health and Family Welfare, Punjab, and Civil Surgeon, Bathinda, for submitting detailed report on or before the next date of hearing, which has been fixed as December 17, 2009.
When asked, Deputy Commissioner, Bathinda, Rahul Tewari said he was not aware about the notice of the PSHRC, but said, “We, too, are helpless in such a situation as around 1,200 cancer affected cases of the district were sent to the state government for seeking grant from CM’s relief fund. Despite all efforts, we could get only Rs 15 lakh grant in the past, which could cover only 100 patients. About 1,100 cancer patients in the district are still waiting for any help from the state government.”
It has also been informed that the secretary, State Health Department, has been collecting fresh details again on the basis of which Bathinda MP Harsirmrat Kaur Badal has been claiming funds in the Parliament.
It may be mentioned that The Tribune had highlighted the pathetic condition of Malkana village, noted for its high cotton yield, as a typical instance of the desperate poverty amid the ostentatious wealth in one of the country’s most prosperous states. Plagued by teeming squalor, lack of sanitation, contaminated water, endemic diseases and above all the official apathy, residents still manage to eke out a living here.
According to the villagers, though the political leadership had pledged to combat the epidemic form of cancer prevalent in the area during the previous polls, it remained failed to take any effective steps to contain the disease.
In the face of the government apathy and their lack of means, many villagers are now taking recourse to ‘black magic’ in the hope it would help in ridding the village of the disease. Dozens of villagers had fallen prey to various forms of cancer in the past, with six people having succumbed to the disease during the past four months. They rued the state health authorities had not rendered any medical assistance whatsoever.