Rajasthan NGO working for silicosis patients alleges govt apathy

JAIPUR: The state government, seeing that Panchayati Raj bodies are overburdened, has decided to allow NGOs to partner the government in development schemes in rural areas like the provision of water, houses and roads. NGO Khanan Shramik Jan Suraksha Samiti of Karauli district, however, has found the government stalling its attempts to come to the aid of silicosis patients.
Retired IAS officer SN Singh, over 80 years old, who has served as collector of Sawai Madhopur and has been aiding this NGO, told TOI, “They have been told patients must approach officials themselves for getting compensation the government offers to silicosis patients. The experience on the ground is that when supported by the NGO, diagnosis and declaration of results is faster. The patients might sometimes be too weak to pursue these. However, officials in Karauli have been discouraging KSKSS workers from bringing patients to them.”
NGO workers say that the Medical Board that is meant to offer certificates to those testing positive has not been sitting for over two months. Many patients who work in mines in Bharatpur or Bundi are being referred back to their home district, Karauli, for diagnosis. In a press release, KSKSS said, “We urge the government to allow patients to be tested in the districts in which they work. It makes it hard for them to travel back home just for a medical examination.”
Three teams from this NGO recently surveyed villages in Karauli, Dholpur and Bharatpur. Across 13 Karauli villages, they encountered 453 suspected cases of silicosis. One hundred and thirty of these were declared positive after testing. Tests could not be conducted on 270 of those identified as likely patients. In Bharatpur, the survey was conducted over eight villages, and 188 people were suspected to be silicosis-positive. While 40 actually tested positive, the results of several others are awaited. In three villages in Dholpur, 45 people were suspected to be silicosis-positive – only 13 of these could be tested. The others could not be tested even two months after being surveyed.
SN Singh said, “At least 22 of the people we surveyed have received certificates showing that they are silicosis-positive. The government has not released compensation to them in two months.”
KSKSS has been organizing awareness camps among mine workers and encouraging those suspected to suffer from lung disease to get themselves tested for silicosis.
District collector Manoj Kumar Sharma’s mobile phone was switched off. His official land phone also appeared not to be working.