Panchanandapur

The two CRY schools at Khatiakhana serve 300 children of the diara (Char) areas. Another school at Subhanitola Char serves 50 more in a new island which has re-emerged near Dakshin Polashgachi in Udhuwa Block of Sahebganj District (Jharkhand). Kedar Nath Mondol and the volunteers of the Ganga Action Committee have got help from benefactors like Kalyan Rudra and doctors from Kolkata to undertake some of their projects. The teachers seen here Rabi Ul Alam and Rajendra mondol also doubled as Pulse Polio volunteers this Wednesday. Subhanitola is over an hour's boat ride from Panchanandapur. The local people are all Bengali speaking, as are most people in Phudkipur, Radhanagar and the neighbouring areas. Patients go to Dr Ajit Sheet at Udhuwa for primary care, but deliveries, TB patients and even a few AFP (limb weakness) cases get admitted at Bangitola Hospital in Kaliachak II. GPAC has an ambulance to ferry the patients after they reach the Panchanandapur Ghat and maintain contact by mobile phone. They hope to expand the use of ambulance boat facilities soon. Those interested can contact them at Bangitola.