Remote Odisha Villagers Gets Their First Primary Health Centre
Bhubaneswar: For decades, people living in the rugged tribal belt of Odisha’s Rayagada district have borne the brunt of the disease almost alone. In the bauxite-rich Sijimali region, where villages are trapped among dense hills and connectivity is poor, healthcare was often a distant dream rather than a fundamental right.
Pregnant women were carried for miles on makeshift stretchers. Elderly villagers often skipped treatment because the nearest functional medical facility was too far away. Children suffering from fever or diarrhea were often dependent on home remedies and faith healers due to the absence of doctors and medicines.
Although rich in natural resources, the region continued to struggle with chronic underdevelopment, malnutrition, and poor health infrastructure; this was a stark reminder of the uneven development of India’s mineral-bearing tribal hinterlands.
Now, a significant change is beginning to take shape in Sunger, a remote health center serving nearly 20,000 people in the mountainous tribal basin.
Vedanta Aluminum, India’s leading industrial company, has strengthened healthcare services at Sunger Primary Health Center (PHC) in a joint initiative with the Rayagada district administration.
The intervention aims to bridge the long-standing healthcare manpower crisis that has severely impacted the delivery of essential medical services in the region.
PHC, which once struggled to operate with a skeleton staff, has now received support to deploy all 11 essential healthcare positions, including MBBS doctor, AYUSH doctor, pharmacist, nursing staff and ambulance support.
For local tribal communities, this is more than an administrative improvement; It represents access, dignity and hope.
The strengthened sanitation services were officially inaugurated on Friday in the presence of local community leaders, health officials, ASHA workers, Anganwadi workers, self-help group members and villagers. Approximately 200 people attended the event; this reflected strong community participation and expectations for the initiative.
More importantly, this intervention directly responds to demands voiced by the villagers themselves during the last health camps, where residents constantly appealed for permanent doctor and nursing staff at the Emergency Medical Center.
The developed facility is expected to reduce dangerous delays in accessing treatment, especially in medical emergencies, for people living in remote villages scattered across the Sijimali hills.
Local villager Pradipta Nayak said, “Earlier, we had to travel long distances on difficult roads for even minor treatment. In emergency situations, the situation becomes extremely stressful for families.”
“Now with the presence of doctors and medical personnel at Sunger Emergency Medical Centre, people feel a sense of relief and security. This initiative will especially help pregnant women, elderly and children in our villages,” he added.
Local educationist and principal of Dumerpadar School, Suryanarayana Singh, said the lack of healthcare manpower has been affecting tribal communities in the region for a long time.
“Vedanta Aluminum’s intervention is expected to bridge these critical gaps by strengthening primary healthcare infrastructure, providing faster medical response and ensuring better continuity of care for residents of surrounding villages,” he said.
Officials associated with the program said the initiative is part of a broader effort to improve access to healthcare in remote and underserved areas of Odisha. The healthcare initiative also includes Mobile Health Units (MHUs), mortuary van services and regular medical camps in remote corners of Rayagada and Koraput districts, addressing the critical medical needs of underserved tribal communities.
In harsh regions like Sijimali, where geography becomes a barrier to survival, access to healthcare often determines whether communities can escape the cycle of poverty and vulnerability.
“For many tribal families in these hills, the transformation of the Sunger Emergency Health Center may seem modest by urban standards. But for a mother seeking safe delivery, an elderly patient in need of urgent care or a child requiring timely treatment, it could mean the difference between despair and survival,” said Rajesh Patnaik, a local journalist and development activist.
