SANKHUWASABHA: Locals of Bhotkhola area in the border district of Sankhuwasabha are compelled to go to China for treatment due to non-availability of doctors in the district.

According to locals, patients from Village Development Committees including Hatiya, Chepuwa, Pawakhola and Kimathanka visited Dedang and Changa of China for treatment.

Though five doctors have been deployed at Sankhuwasabha District Hospital, only two

doctors were available, the locals complained.

As many as 15,000 locals of Bhotkhola were affected due to lack of health workers in the

district.

Locals made a beeline for health check-up, when Dr Ajit Thapa, a member of the border inspection team, had visited Bhotkhola recently to inspect the Nepal-China border.

A single health worker has been looking after patients in Bhotkhola area for several years.Chuman Lal Das, chief, District Health Office, assured that the Department of Health and Ministry of Health would be informed about the acute shortage of health workers in the district.

Though patients were receiving treatment from a few rural

health workers stationed in the northern part of Sankhuwasabha, the system of treatment was far from effective, said Temchhebi Bhote, a local.

Locals also preferred to visit China for treatment as Khandbari, the district headquarters —155 km away from Bhotkhola — was a seven-day long walk, while China was just a day’s walk away, said Ladar Bhote, headmaster of Himshikar Primary School at Hatiya.

However, entry for locals into the Chinese land is not as easy. The Chinese border security personnel did not allow locals to enter China without conducting a through health check up, Bhotkhola locals said.