People managing the facility have not estimated losses incurred during the floods or received additional government funds
Photo: Rohini Krishnamurthy / CSE This is the third part in a series of stories on the aftermath of the 2022 Assam floods. Read the first, second and fourth parts here, here and here.
The Jalapur Primary Health Centre (PHC) was among the critical infrastructure heavily damaged in the 2022 Assam floods. On May 8, 2022, the PHC located in Katigorah in Cachar district was under water and 40 per cent of the outpatient department (OPD) was submerged, Debojit Roy, community mobilisation officer of the health facility recalled.
The water, he added, stayed stagnant for seven days. The PHC reported damage to the floor. The floods washed away medications, apparatus such as gauze bandage rolls as well as birth and death documents. “We managed to save a few,” Roy said.
The PHC, which is in a low-lying area, shifted its outpatient department to a nearby, higher elevation region. On the new premises, ASHA workers distributed halogen tablets (to purify water), menstrual pads and paracetamol tablets to locals affected by the deluge. The same services were given from June 18-22 during the second wave of the flood.
In 2022, Cachar witnessed two waves of floods, according to a document submitted by the state government. The first was from April 6 to June 12 and the second lasted from June 13 to September 16.
“We were not prepared for the 2022 floods,” Roy shared. But since then, in 2023, the government has organised mock training to help communities be better prepared.
Read more: Analysing Assam's 2022 Deluge
Shipra Das, who has been an ASHA worker for about seven years, is also involved in educating people. For example, she told villagers not to defecate in the open during floods as it could contaminate the water. “I have asked them to use the toilet facilities of houses in higher altitudes,” she said.
The District Flood Contingency Plan Cachar 2020-21 has information on what the health facilities need to do in case of a flood. It noted that all medical sub-centers, hospitals and PHCs under Katigorah Circle have to maintain a buffer stock of essential medicines and keep a medical team in readiness. They have also been asked to cover all the relief camps and flood-affected areas with the help of the local Panchayati Raj Institutions.
The PHC, however, has not estimated the losses it incurred during the floods. Nor has it received any additional funds from the government for repair work.
The facility has relied on its own resources raised through other means. For example, the PHC won Rs 50,000 prize money under the Kayakalp scheme, which was set up in 2015 by the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare to promote and reward cleanliness and hygiene in public health facilities. Thirty per cent of this is being used for developmental and repair work, Roy said.
There have been no efforts to flood-proof the PHC. “This is time-consuming and expensive,” Roy said, adding that it was not possible to shift the entire building.
Read more: Assam’s Haflong swept by landslides; activists blame ‘development’
The PHC will stay alert between May and September, months when inundations are common. They plan to keep a few medications in stock in such situations and shift the rest to a safer location.
“If it rains continuously for 30 hours, our OPD will likely submerge,” Roy said while maintaining that the region will be able to cope better post the 2022 floods.
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