No check and balance: Lack of basic amenities makes residents’ lives miserable

Broken roads, choked drainage and non-existent health facilities make up Thatha Hakiman

SARGODHA: Residents of Thatha Hakiman, a village located in Sahiwal, expressed frustration over the fact that they are not being provided basic amenities, despite repeated assurances from authorities concerned.

Broken roads, choked drainage systems, unhygienic drinking water and an overall dearth of basic health facilities make up the current landscape of the village, in spite of directives issued by the Punjab Ombudsman in 2013 instructing officials to ensure facilities.

“Commitments were made and the paperwork was processed several years ago. However, on ground the village exists in isolation, deprived of basic necessities crucial for survival,” stated Ahmed Nawaz Dhuddi, a resident of the area.

Raj Muhammad Qasim, another resident, said that the Punjab Ombudsman had taken notice of the situation and directed the local administration to include the village in the Annual Development Projects 2016-2017.

However, progress has been moving at a snail’s pace and officials have turned a deaf ear to residents’ repeated requests.

Drainage systems have been established in three areas surrounding the village. But there still remains a large pond full of sewage and drainage. The stagnant water is making residents ill; hepatitis has spread like wildfire among residents due to this, maintained Qasim.

In addition to this, cancer, diabetes and heart diseases are also very common among people living in rural areas, said resident Muhammad Iqbal. However, we are not provided with the necessary medical facilities, he lamented.

The infant mortality rate is also very as specialised gynaecologists are not deputed in rural health centres,
he added.

In February 2015, the Punjab Ombudsman had directed the provincial health secretary to establish a dispensary in the village. No step has been taken in this regard so far, informed resident Haji Ghulam Ali.

Sargodha Commissioner Nadeem Mehboob expressed that the dispensary was on the cards; a proposed plan has been forwarded to the provincial health department, he said.

Further, Mehboob also assured residents that a feasibility report would be completed on the missing facilities in order to get work completed as soon as possible.

Yet, taking into consideration the current situation, residents remain unconvinced. No practical measure has been taken so far, authorities are not serious about these issues, concluded Dhuddi.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 4^th, 2018.