Death from malaria seems no news to people inhabiting the sleepy hamlets of Garhwa district. Bereft of basic preventive and treatment facilities, the villagers seem to have resigned themselves to the fact that sooner or later the disease would prey on them.
Death toll rises particularly in rainy season between July and December every year. Malaria continued its onslaught in the remote villages of the district this year too, leaving behind a trail of tears. An entire family was wiped out by the disease.
Five deaths during the period of one week had been reported just from Tribal village Goreya Karam and Daho village, both under Ramkanda block. The deceased identified were the children of Birendra Parahiya, namely Ajit Parahiya (8 years) and Rani Kumari(12 years), Sohar Parahiya (12 years) son of Butan Parahiya. All of them are the resident of Goreya Karam village.
Besides this, two dozen peoples have fallen ill in both the villages. After receiving information about outbreak of Malaria, a health team went to the villages and gave medicines to the effected people. The dilapidated Primary Health Centres as well as the sub-centers in most of the panchayats wear the look of a haunted house. In most places, they do not exist at all. At the block level hospitals, very rarely does one find access to facilities for blood test. Compounding the woes of the Government and the people are the rural practitioners who reap a harvest out of tragedy said one teacher posted in Goreya Karam village.
A majority of the deaths take place under the treatment of these quacks, who are often consulted by the villagers in the absence of awareness and proper health care, said a villager of Dao village.