Government facility locked, Bihar villagers set up 'Atmanirbhar' Covid Care Centre

PATNA: Sarisab and Pahi villages in Bihar’s Madhubani district are now the talk of the town. And for a good reason. As the pandemic ravaged the rural hinterland, locals as well as those living outside came together to set up a makeshift Atmanirbhar covid care community centre.

Launched four days ago, two beds replete with oxygen concentrators and other basic primary healthcare essentials are now ready. A good number of non-resident villagers contributed with medical equipment. Six villages are covered under the initiative, so far.

“We have a government-run PHC but it remains locked even during this crisis hour. So, we made this arrangement to save the lives of our folks,” says Sarisab- Pahi (west) panchayat mukhiya Ram Bahadur Choudhary. The plan was discussed at a virtual meeting involving locals and non-resident villagers.

Vicky Kumar Mandal of the Ayachi Nagar Yuva Sangathan, along with Ram Bahadur Chaudhary and dozens of youths then took over to set up the centre at the flood relief building. Doctors have volunteered to provide both online consultations and offline services depending upon the situation.

Electricity connection is not erratic, but villagers arranged a generator set for the centre to deal with power trips especially during heavy rains. 

“Our youths are also involved in an awareness-cum-assistance campaign daily in which they wear PPE kits and travel in a group of five to monitor families, motivate them to get vaccines and familiarise them with Covid safety protocols,” says Mandal.