MYAGDI, Feb 6: Yognath Sharma of Babiyachaur, Myagdi is dealing with a heavy debt to treat his wife Tika Kumari Sharma, 50, suffering from kidney ailment. In the name of assets all he had was few herds and a little piece of land. Last year he sold one of his buffalo and even took loan of about 2 lakhs for her treatment. But, it looks like the dark clouds of trouble are clearing anytime soon for him.
Apart from hardship in managing resources for his wife's treatment, he has to cater for the livelihood of his nine member family. He has six daughters and a son. The little money that he earns is all taken by her treatment. It's been really hard for him to manage two square meals for the family. Some of the kids have even dropped out of schools.
Last year doctors diagnosed that she had a stone in her kidney and because of that it had stopped functioning. She was taken to almost all the hospitals in the zone including Manipal Hospital, Pokhara, and Om Hospital of Gandaki and Kathmandu. Due to lack of funds he had to take her back home without availing all the treatment possible.
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“I want her to get well but I don't have funds for the treatment. People who had provided loans for her previous treatment have been continuously asking for returning. In such a condition, I am helpless,” he said with bitterness.
“When I heard about the free health service provided by the government I rushed to the health posts expecting a positive response but I was disappointed when the health workers refused to provide any help,” Sharma said. He informed that the health workers behaved and treated him in a way that he found was 'mean and harsh'. “If it's not for us then, who is the free health service for? Is it only for influential people?” he questioned.
He accused the government for neglecting the poor and marginalized people. He lamented that there are several other cases in the hospital but none of them have received the help. The free service announced by the government has been nothing more than a blow for the helpless people. It is just limited to papers, he said.
“All the privileges and free services announced by the government are used by the well offs and those who are actually in need are deprived of them,” he said. He stressed that the government must take this issue seriously and ensure measures that would enable to poor to access government facilities.
Sharma who is willing to provide his own kidney to his wife is unable to do so due lack of money. “I've heard health minister Gagan Thapa talk on Radio and TV, promising to provide free health services to the poor and the needy. But the promise has been confined to his speeches only,” he said. Unable to control his emotions, he fumed in anger and asked “If they really don't mean what they say, why do they play with our emotions by offering false hopes.”
