Sunderbans residents get succour from visiting doctor

Patients flock in at noon to the dispensary at Roypara in Hingalganj block every Saturday to consult Dr Arunodoy Mondal, who travels from Kolkata in a five hour journey over the weekend.

"I treat around 150 patients during the weekends," Mondal said.
The Sunderbans delta with poor communication facilities has few health services with the primary health centre having no doctor after the Cylone Aila hit the region on May 25.
"The primary health centre here has got no doctors since the cyclone. This dispensary has been very useful for the people living in the nearby delta of Sunderbans," a regular patient to the dispensary, Nripen Roy said.

"Over 2233 patients were treated since the cyclone," claims Mondal, who plans to open a maternity unit besides facility for treating snakebites.
"We have plan to open maternity and snakebite units as infant mortality and death caused by snakebites are high in the Sundarbans," he said.
A primary health worker agreed that the dispensary was a great help to the residents here as there was no doctor in the centre.