In Ggm's Bhora Kalan, pharmacies run out of basic meds

Gurugram: As the rural outskirts of the Millennium City continue to grapple with the ferocious second wave of Covid with an almost absent healthcare infrastructure, a village in Gurugram's Pataudi area — Bhora Kalan — is struggling to get even basic medication such as zinc and paracetamol tablets.

And people here are dying in their homes without access to ICU beds or any oxygen supply.

With an estimated population of 15,000, the village currently has around 300 active cases and in addition to basic medicines used as early intervention such as zinc and paracetamol having run out, even medication used for moderate to serious Covid patients such as Remdesivir, Tociluzumab, and Favipiravir are also running out.

For any of these, villagers will have to travel to Gurugram city.

There are also complaints that unlike urban areas where doctors are there to provide the advice to patients there are no such medical facilities as such in their village. Shortage of basic medicines, professional medical advice is in turn leading to deterioration and deaths due to COVID-19 in the village.

As per villagers, since last month, reportedly twelve people have died due to COVID-19. Most of them passed away in their homes as they were not able to get an ICU bed or get enough oxygen supply. Testing rates have been abysmal till last week, when the district administration was jolted into conducting rapid antigen tests.

What has led to fear and concern among villagers is the fact that this time many healthy people who have contracted this infection are also losing their lives.

Significantly, while the villagers are looking forward to taking the vaccine, there are not enough stocks available. Many are not able to get their shots on their appointed days.

Expressing their anger, many residents even said that despite being 30 kilometres away from Gurugram city, there was a huge urban rural divide being felt by them in terms of basic health infrastructure.

Villagers have also criticised public officials for not taking proactive steps like increasing testing and enforcing prohibitions when cases were peaking.

"If there is shortage of beds and oxygen, the minimum that government officials can do for us is to ensure that at least there is availability of basic medications and professional doctors that can provide us with advice on how to deal with this deadly disease. Condition of most of the patients infected with COVID-19 deteriorated as they were not able to get medications of any kind," said Mahesh Saini, a resident of Bhora Kalan village.