JAMUGURIHAT, June 19 - The portion of the National Highway No 52 between 182 km post of Jamugurihat, the point from which the four laning starts to 193 km post of Chatiya Khatual Centre is in such a dilapidated condition, that not to speak of vehicles even pedestrians and cyclists dare not travel through this road as they fear losing their life and limbs.
The road is full of long cracks, wide breaches and deep potholes which are very dangerous to negotiate. As the four laning is being done by the National Highway Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd (NHIDCL), it is neither maintained and repaired by the State PWD nor by the National Highway Authority of India and as such it is in a state of devastation. A few months back, the road was repaired but the condition became worse after the repairs. It is learnt that the NH-37 is going to be repaired immediately. The people, however, want the repair of the NH-52 also along with the NH-37 to ease their sufferings.
Poor health services: As many as 15 physicians were appointed recently in the physician-starved undivided Sonitpur district. Thousands of patients of these health centres heaved a sigh of relief as they thought that they will get the services of these physicians. But their hopes were dashed as the appointing authority of the doctors, the National Health Mission (NHM) issued their release orders after a few days of their appointments and ordered them to join at Tezpur Medical College.
A doctor named Rinku Chaudhury was appointed at the Jamuguri Subsidiary Health Centre, as there was no regular doctor there except the one who was reinstated under the NHM after his retirement. For the last 8-9 years, the health centre is running with one doctor, instead of three as one doctor named Tutumoni Handique has been attached to the Kanaklata Civil Hospital though her service is still at Jamuguri Health Centre. People want adequate number of physicians at the health centre which is catering to the needs of more than 30,000 people of the area, prone to malaria and other such diseases.
11 livestock die: An undiagonised bovine disease has claimed as many as 11 livestock in the last one month at Barigaon, Jamugurihat, creating panic in the village among the cultivators and milk producers. The livestock have distension in their stomachs, stop passing urine and dung, face difficulties in breathing and die.
Khargeswar Nath of Rokachuk, Barigaon, Sarbaswar Nath (gaonburha), Lila Nath, Lakshi Nath, Himen Rajbanshi, Sonaram Saikia, Sarat Nath, Ratna Nath and Indrani Devi of Barfalia Barigaon have lost 11 livestock which includes two milch cows, a pair of young bullocks, three cows, three heifers including, a hybrid jersey and one male calf. A team of veterinary doctors, led by Dr Dilip Sharma, o/c, Intensive Cattle Development Programme, Tezpur visited the village on May 31, took stock of the situation, met the villagers, collected samples of blood and the creepers of Mimosa species, the consumption of which may be the cause of the disease they suspect and sent it for laboratory tests. At a time, when the cultivators are busy in ploughing fields and milk production is the source of income for many, such death of livestock have put the villagers in dire straits.
