Nagpur: Asola, a village in Yavatmal district which was in the news six months ago for being endemic to kidney failures, awaits official access to a primary health centre (PHC) close by.PHCs, which are located at village level, are the basic units of government rural health care mechanism. Each village or a group is linked to a PHC. The allotment is done on the basis of population and also the taluka.Asola, which has seen 15 deaths due to kidney failures in the last 5-6 years, is attached to a PHC in Sawargaon which is 55km away. Though there is another PHC barely 6km away in Manikwada, it is not officially meant for Asola.This is because Asola comes under Yavatmal taluka while Manikwada is in Ner taluka. Going by the norms, Asola is linked to the PHC in Sawargaon. The locals say they don’t go to Sawargaon due to the long distance and they don’t get services in Manikwada.The first request to link the village with the PHC close by was made in March when the kidney ailment cases first came to fore. Ajay Rathore, a pathologist from the village, had tested blood samples of 172 persons and found high creatinine level in 61. High creatinine is a symptom of kidney disorder. Another request for a PHC next door has been sent to the district collector this month.A senior officer in the district health office accepted that officially the PHC which covered Asola was in Sawargaon because of the taluka-wise allocation. “A request has been put up by the villagers. The proposal will be put up before the district health council and later with the zilla parishad,” he said.The officer said there is no bar on Asola residents at the PHC in Sawargaon and added that they can always get the basic medical services.“However, there are several other extended health services which may not be taken up by the PHC which is close by,” he said.According to the villagers, the staff at the PHC turn them down. “We have to carry an Aadhar card as proof of residence. The staffers say they can only accommodate patients attached to their PHC and not others,” said Rathore.Another resident Prem Rathore said the villagers neither go to Manikwada PHC due to technical issues nor to Sawargaon due to the distance.“The PHCs are also supposed to monitor the health parameters of the village under it. Once a village comes under a PHC, the staff is accountable for the health situation there. The PHC at Manikwada is not responsible for the issues related to Asola,” said Kishore Tiwari, chairman of Vasantrao Naik Shetkari Swavalamban Mission, a state government agency on farmers.Meanwhile, the villagers said one more person, Nekilal Rathore, died of kidney failure recently taking the toll to 15.

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