Healthy' counter to Maoist menace in Dantewada

IN what is seen as a major relief to the tribal inhabitants of Potali, in the Maoist-affected Kuakonda block of Chhattisgarh's Dantewada district, a healthcare centre built in 2003, has finally become functional after two decades.

- EJAZ KAISER @ Raipur

South Bastar, witnessing a consistent decline in areas seen as the strongholds of the outlawed CPI (Maoist), has created good scope for Potali, where the services of the sub-health centre are resumed for the local adivasi community. It was stalled earlier owing to Maoist violence.

"It was the state government's endeavour to ensure sustainable resilient health services reach every tribal pockets that Potali sub-health centre was re-built after the Maoists destroyed it. There was also an apparent threat after the work started to begin on the health centre", Mayank Chaturvedi, a Dantewada collector said.

The collector added that the efforts of the district administration, health department, collaboration from local communities, and consultation services from the World Health Organisation (WHO) helped realise the goal.