Imphal, January 13: New Somtal and Molcham villages situated along the Indo-Myanmar border have literally become the breeding ground for malarial parasites with at least five persons dying from the disease on an average every year.

Talking to reporters who had accompanied a medical team which had gone to these border villages for Pulse Polio Immunization (PPI) Programme from January 11 to 12, the villagers complained that the problems of the people have been further compounded due to complete lack of medi-care and poor transport and communication facilities in the areas.

In fact, the accompanying reporters experienced the harsh realities, when India Government had to request the Myanmarese authority for allowing the medical team to enter these villages from Myanmar side, due to poor condition of road and transport on the Indian side.

Onthang Haokip, a senior citizen of New Somtal told reporters that the village is a hotbed of malarial parasites and at least five persons succumb to this disease on an average every year.

He said that at least 60 percent of the village population have suffered from the dreaded disease.

In the absence of any medical care facilities for miles, the villagers are relying on the herbal medicines prepared by village quacks, he said.

Amid the looming dread of malaria, the tentacles of the killer AIDS is said to have invaded the lives of the simple villagers and so far four persons have succumbed to it while an unspecific numbers are suspectedly carrying the killer virus.

Grandfather of 5-year old Thanglam, who has been infected with AIDS, while recounting his ordeal in bringing up the child whose father too had succumbed to the killer disease, informed that the villagers came to know about AIDS very lately.

Lamenting that the cries of the State Government and Manipur AIDS Control Society for prevention of AIDS and its control measures do not reach the remote village, the grandfather informed that at least four persons including a woman have died of suspected AIDS cases.

There might be many others who have already been infected with the killer virus, he feared, and drew the immediate attention of the authorities concerned into the matter for taking up appropriate and preventive measures before the situation gets out of control.

When the medical team reached Molcham village on January 12, the plight of the villagers there was found to be no better than their counterparts of New Somtal and the villagers highlighted numerous health related problems which have become part of their lives in the hope that it would be communicated to the authorities concerned.

Apart from administering oral polio vaccine drops to children of five years and below to prevent them from the scourge of polio, the medical team led by Dr H Nelson also treated and gave medical advice to the New Somtal and Molcham villagers, who turned up in large number.

The medicines worth Rs 20,000 carried by the medical team were found to be too little for them.

The medical team and the reporters were struck with the bitter truth when one of the patients to whom the doctor had written medical prescription, retorted, �From where he would buy the medicine?�.

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