BY BISWARAJ PATTNAIK, October 29, 2015 : Farmers die of several ills and problems. Close study shows farmers have indeed killed themselves due to inability to repay loans; but not the same way as things happened during ‘Mother India’ movie days. The heartless money-lenders usurp the poor vassal’s land on grounds of debt default.

Truth is that very few of the agro-dependent guys lose heart and zeal to live on for several human anxieties. They die of ‘casual attitude’ to farming, alcoholism, funds diversion to activities other than agriculture, and acquiring luxury items having been driven by stubborn wife and children. Some of them end lives due to disgust at a failed family life and extreme domestic discord.

It is also true that the so called welfare state has failed to bring in place robust farmer security mechanisms like crop insurance, free irrigation systems and regular soft loans apart from constant guidance support. The agriculture pundits, thinkers and planners along with extension officials do only steal fat salaries for keeping away from farmers and talking big.

The village level agro guides spend time gossiping and lobbying for powerful local politicians for private benefits and stalling transfer to demanding locations. Most disturbingly, the ordinary farmer knows nothing about crop insurance and how and where it is availed. Crop insurance is an esoteric subject even for high level agro officials.

The moment poor farmers seek to know how the scheme can benefit them, officials scare them away by placing the problem parts effectively. They don’t ever make clear the scheme or sure farmers become entitled in case of crop failure.

It appears that the ‘farmer suicide outcry’ is more due to media hype than real. All the same, the state has to wake up to some critical realities like ‘robust crop insurance mechanisms’ not being in place and horrifically heartless banking support to farmers.

People of Odisha may have forgotten that on April 30 in the current year when Bhubaneswar was already hot and humid enough to be declared a make-believe city with the worst climate, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik launched the much-hyped free medicine scheme ‘Niramaya’ at the Capital Hospital.

This healthcare outfit itself keeps devouring incalculable sums of modernisation money in vain ( the renowned doctors posted there rush to blood-sucking private hospitals when their family members and relatives fall ill). ‘Nirmaya’ was to be established at the three medical colleges, all thirty district head quarters hospitals apart from the Capital and Rourkela hospitals.

Naveen also inaugurated the new office building of the Odisha State Medical Corporation [OSMC] and pledged Rs 200 crore to spend for ore rupees for the first year. Drug distribution counters would soon open at all the community health centres, public health centres and other state-run health service units of Odisha.

To make the scheme truly functional, 598 additional posts of pharmacists were created to run the district level outfits. 570 different medicines were to be made available from May 1. Incidentally, the central government by now had given a quiet burial to the free drug distribution scheme at the national level promised in 2012 by the UPA outfit.

Naveen’s ministerial colleagues would be simultaneously launching the drive in various district headquarters hospitals the same day. “To start with, Niramaya was to get going in the three government-run medical college hospitals, 30 district headquarters hospitals besides Capital Hospital and Rourkela Government Hospital as proudly announced by the health and family welfare minister Atanu Sabyasachi Nayak.

“We will have a stringent quality assurance system and prescription audit so that the state becomes eligible for central government incentives. But even without that, the government is committed to free drugs for all,” Atanu had roared just to make sure Naveen could hear that even wherever positioned.

As per the central government norms, states undertaking free drug schemes would get 5% of NHM allocation as incentive only if they maintained the prescribed quality assurance norms.

Incidentally, the free drugs  ‘Niramaya’ came exactly a month after the government launched the subsidized food scheme ‘Aahar,’ which provides meals at Rs 5 in five cities- Bhubaneswar, Berhampur, Cuttack, Rourkela and Sambalpur.

Odisha State Medical Corporation Ltd (OSMCL), a state PSU formed in 2013, was to run the scheme. Hospital consumables, surgical items and medicines for serious ailments such as cancer and diabetes are also part of the free drugs scheme.

OSMCL managing director Roopa Mishra said the entire procurement and distribution process would be done online. “The IT platform would bring transparency and check on wastages. Doctors’ prescriptions would be scanned and uploaded on the websites for audit so that they don’t prescribe medicines other than those available in the free supply to any patient.

As per the scheme, 572 different drugs are to be provided at every centre. But on scrutiny from time to time, only 50 types of tablets and 30 of syrups are available at the DDC of MKCG Hospital. But at most Niramaya centres, only five or six drugs are available.  There is no way the patients can voice complaints with any higher authority for being cheated continuously ever since the scheme came into being. Niramaya is a ‘fairy tale’ to the poor patients. There is no information placed publicly about the scheme or how patients should be able to penalise the officials who keep duping people.

In the hope of free medicines, the poor patients come to hospitals with less money than they would have done, and are forced to sale valuables or burrow money ashamedly from undesirable sources to save precious lives. As per law, the government agencies can be booked for breach of contract, trust and fleecing.

The state Public Relations department can buy media space at astronomical prices for stupid ‘foundation stone laying’ or ‘inauguration of culverts’, but would not spend a dime on making publicly clear how free medicines are availed and who to hold accountable in the event of perpetually non available promised drugs that cost too much in the greedy commercial market.

Not a single Niramaya centre hangs a signage showing stock position of any drug or surgical materials. A news paper carried a story of how a very poor patient had come a long way to get free medicines to be turned down from a Niramaya centre for there were only five or six drugs available; the rest 575 were missing sine die.

The ‘Nirmaya’ did not get the state promoted super media hype of Nabakalebara, but for sure built a thousand times more excitement among people than the ‘single faith’ event, for it could save many lives inexpensively.