Residents of the tiny hamlets in and around Buxa hills of Alipurduar will finally have access to basic healthcare in their locality.

For the first time, the district administration has taken the initiative to develop a community health unit near the historical Buxa fort. The unit, to be manned by paramedics and health workers, will have three beds.

“The idea is to provide primary treatment to people in hilly villages that one can’t access by car. The health unit is likely to be ready by next month,” said Prashanta Barman, the BDO of Kalchini block under which the area falls.

So far, the residents of these hilly hamlets carry patients in bamboo cots and trek for 10-15km to reach locations where they can put the patient in a vehicle and finally head for the district hospital in Alipurduar.

“In March this year, a patient brought to the hospital was pronounced dead. The doctors that time had commented that he would have stayed alive if he had been provided with some primary treatment. It is good that the administration has finally thought of opening a community health unit in Buxa,” said a source in the district health department.

A few days back, Barman, along with Surendra Kumar Meena, the Alipurduar district magistrate, and a small team had trekked 11km across hills to reach Adma, a remote village in Buxa hills, to initiate the Covid-19 vaccination process.

The Alipurduar district administration has also decided to build a concrete gallery on the ground of Buxa fort that was used as a detention centre by the British, for tourists to sit, relax and enjoy the pristine natural beauty.

Every year, hundreds of tourists, especially trekkers, visit the fort surrounded by lush green forests, with the Bhutan hills forming the background.

“However, there is no proper place for them to sit and relax. That is why the gallery has been planned,” Barman, the Kalchini BDO, added.