In a stark reflection of the healthcare challenges in Manipur’s remote hill districts, a 40-year-old man was carried over 15 kilometres on a makeshift bamboo stretcher after a local Primary Health Sub-Centre (PHSC) in Pherzawl district was found without medical staff.
The incident occurred early Sunday when Chawngsawnthang, a resident of Kangreng village, developed severe kidney-related pain. His family rushed him to the Kangreng PHSC seeking urgent medical attention, only to find the facility locked and unattended.
Sources said the PHSC is currently non-functional due to the absence of posted medical personnel, leaving residents without access to basic healthcare services.
With no ambulance service or medical assistance available, villagers fashioned a stretcher using bamboo poles and blankets and carried the patient across difficult hilly terrain to Kangrendor, covering a distance of around 15 kilometres.
From there, he was transported by motorboat across the Barak River to reach a hospital in neighbouring Assam for further treatment.
The incident has triggered concern among local residents, who said the lack of functioning healthcare facilities in the district continues to put lives at risk. Community members maintained that such situations are not isolated but reflect persistent gaps in service delivery in remote areas.
They also pointed to the risks posed by poor connectivity and the absence of emergency transport, which often force patients to rely on improvised means to access treatment.
The absence of staff at the Kangreng PHSC has raised questions over the deployment and monitoring of healthcare personnel in the hill districts. Local voices have called for immediate measures to operationalise the centre, improve transport infrastructure, and review the status of non-functional health facilities in the region.
As of Sunday evening, no official statement had been issued by the district administration regarding the condition of the PHSC. The condition of the patient was not immediately known at the time of filing this report.