Salhewara and Bakarkatta, situated in the middle of dense forests and mountains in the western end of Chhattisgarh, have once been identified as Naxal-affected areas. But now the identity of this place is not Naxalism but the development happening here. Its hallmark is that residents of Madhya Pradesh are also coming here to take advantage of health facilities. Medical vans under the Mukhyamantri Haat-bazaar clinic scheme are parked at the weekly haat-bazaar in Salhewara and Bakarkatta in the newly formed Khairagarh district. From here the border of Balaghat district of Madhya Pradesh is only three kilometers away. Many villagers from there come here to market and get their check-up done there after seeing the van parked. Pritam Ram, a resident of Kachanari village in Balaghat district, said that there are almost no health facilities in his village. In such a situation, people come here to market in Salhewara on Tuesdays and in Rampur on Wednesdays. Have got myself checked many times in the medical van parked in the market. The tests done here revealed that I have cataract. As a result of which my eyes were cured by getting timely treatment. Ramprasad, a resident of the same village in Haat-Bazar of Rampur, says that in the investigation done here, it was found that my BP keeps on increasing, medicine is also available free of cost from here. This scheme started on the initiative of Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel. The popularity is such that there is always a crowd in the weekly market to get the checkup done near the van. Not only this, the patients of the neighboring state are also getting health benefits by showing them in the OPD of Primary Health Center Salhewara. On an average, more than 100 patients visit this health center every day, out of which ten percent are from Madhya Pradesh. So far, more than 63 lakh villagers have taken benefits from the Chief Minister’s Haat-Bazar Clinic Scheme in the state. Health facilities are being provided through 4289 dedicated vehicles and medical staff in 1798 Haat Bazar clinics every week in the state. Recently, an online system has been started for follow-up of patients referred from Haat Bazar clinics. Health checkup and medicine distribution, pathology test and treatment are being done free of cost in medical vans in remote areas through Haat Bazar Clinic scheme. This scheme is giving a lot of convenience to those villagers who are unable to go to the hospital due to some reason. They come to the market while roaming around and get their checkup done when they see the van parked. Here general tests like BP, Sugar, Malaria, Cataract are done immediately or they are advised to come to Primary Health Center. Due to which the disease of the patient can be controlled before it progresses. – There was a time when people used to get scared due to the fear of Naxalites in Salhewara and Bakarkatta. But in the last four years the picture of this area has changed. The main reason for the better health facilities here is the newly constructed roads here. A network of roads has been laid in Bakarkatta and Salhewara. To reach the block headquarter Chhuikhadan, the people of Bakarkatta had to travel 70 kilometers from Salhewar via Narmada. But last year, with the construction of road from Chhuikhadan to Bakarkatta via Kumharwada, the distance of 70 kms has reduced to just 35 kms. With this, construction of 35 km road from Salhewara to Narmada and 40 km from Salhewara to Bakarkatta has been completed.Continue Reading