Healthcare in Tribal Sunderbans Bengal
India 800 bringing new innovative solutions to help the India’s tribal areas in their health care projects in partnership with local NGO’s
In the tribal heartland of the Sunderban tiger forests in Bengal the health care facilities remain poor and are almost next to nothing. But NGO’s are helping to make great strides in spite of meagre Government help.
India 800 in particular is helping to bring new affordable solutions to these poor areas and one of the products that was being tested was a pair of spectacles which would not require a visit to or by the optician. The glasses have a lens mechanism filled with a liquid and this liquid’s thickness acts as the strength required for one’s shortsighedness. The glasses are fitted with a self wind up pointer which the patient simply turns to adjust the thickness of the liquid until he can see clearly. It takes literally a minute – a DIY pair of spectacles.
The one hospital covering several islands is partly funded by India 800 where there is always a queue of patients. The patients have a massive transportation problem and India 800 is also looking into mobile clinics perhaps by way of investing in an old navy ship to run across the Hoogli River between the islands.
The Hoogli River is a large tribuatry of Ganga coming down from from Murshidabad but with heavy rains the Hoogli river can be a menace to the islanders who have no defences against floods. There is very little investment in the area though the Government does run a three day tour to the Sajanekali island, the Bengal tiger reserve island, where the tourists stay in tree top guest houses to spot the roaming tigers. If such packages could be combined with a little up north Darjeeling’s tea garden tours and other such attractions perhaps a lot more tourists income could flow into the region, to ultimately help safguard these people and their areas.
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Anil Bhanot
31 July 2011