One of the biggest challenges before the Naveen Patnaik government on the Covid-19 front at this juncture is persuading the tribal community members to undergo tests and get themselves vaccinated. This has become imperative in view of the surge in cases in the rural areas that include many tribal villages in districts such as Malkangiri and Rayagada. There have been reports of tribal people in some areas resisting the government’s efforts to conduct tests due to a lack of awareness. Hence, any such exercise by the government should be preceded by extensive awareness campaigns.
However, with Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik having made it clear that tests in the rural areas must be conducted at all costs, officials have been persistent in their efforts which are now beginning to yield results. For example, the Dongria Kondhs of Rayagada, who were initially reluctant to undergo tests, have now agreed to give samples to the visiting medical teams. Recently, the district administration organized two camps in the area where more than 80 swab samples were collected.
A Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group (PVTG), Dongria kondhs are spread across Bissam Cuttack, Kalyansinghpur and Muniguda blocks of the district. Cases of Covid-19 infection have been reported among the tribal community members from Bissam Cuttack and Kalyansinghpur and immediate containment steps have become necessary. The problem with these tribal groups is their high level of ignorance about the advancement of modern medicine and its benefits and their enduring superstitions. The Dongria kondhs had initially refused to undergo Covid tests saying that Niyam Raja, their local deity in the Niyamgiri hills, will protect them from all diseases.
Hence the Chief Minister is right in asking the administration to take all possible steps to ensure that people in the villages, especially the tribal people, are tested for Covid-19 and given proper treatment if found infected. He has been laying equal emphasis on vaccination which is the first line of defence against the disease.
Awareness and testing drive in the rural areas has picked up pace over the past week. In the tribal-dominated Mayurbhanj district, the local administration has initiated drives to make the PVTGs aware about Covid-appropriate behaviour and the need to get tested. In the last few weeks, at least 18 persons belonging to the Khadia tribal community have tested positive for Covid-19. Some time ago, two Khadia community members from a particular village under Shamakhunta block had visited a Community Health Centre (CMC) for a checkup following bouts of cough and fever. After coming to know of this, local health officials conducted tests on another 40 people from the village and 16 of them were found infected with the virus. All the infected persons were put under home isolation and the exercise of contact tracing began immediately.
It is, thus, extremely important for the administration to identify Covid-19 positive cases among the tribal communities which very often suffer due to their ignorance. Thankfully, many PVTG members in districts such as Malkangiri and Rayagada are now beginning to understand the need to get tested. But the administration must continue to step up its test and awareness drive among them further.
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