Madane Community Health Centre, built by German health volunteers at Banjhkateri Basundhara in ward 4 of Madane Rural Municipality, has been providing good health services to remote villages in Gulmi. Many people from Madane, Malika and Dhurkot rural municipalities of Gulmi and neighbouring districts of Arghakhanchi and Pyuthan visit the health centre for various medical needs. Currently, a team of two German doctors and Nepali health workers have been providing general medical and dental services to the rural people.

However, service seekers have to suffer a lot to reach the health facility due to the poor condition of the roads leading to the health centre. Two rural roads connect to the health centre. But roads near to the health institution are in pathetic condition due to a lack of regular maintenance.

“The roads leading to the health centre are in bad condition. Even motorcycles cannot run through the roads since the monsoon rains caused severe damage. The rural municipality has not prioritised the maintenance of such important roads,” said Gothe Gharti, a local. “The local unit carries out repairs every year but only for the sake of it. They make roadside drainage, but do not do quality work to keep the roads motorable,” he further complained.

The health centre is connected by roads from Bhedikhor and Saire sides. Both the roads near the health centre are in poor condition. The roads were constructed before the health centre was set up. The local people complain that the federal, provincial and the local governments are indifferent to upgrading these crucial access roads.

Patients have no alternative but to walk through the rain-damaged roads to reach the health centre for treatment. “I went all the way to the health centre from ward 6 of Malika Rural Municipality on a relative’s motorcycle. We went smoothly up to Bhedikhor but had to get off the bike and walk about a kilometre,” said Sabitri Khadka, who recently visited the health centre for her dental treatment. “The road near the health centre is very difficult. This is sheer negligence of the authorities concerned,” she added.

The service seekers vent their ire at the people’s representatives for their apathy to repair the roads to the health institution. “An ambulance can’t even reach the hospital during emergencies. The local unit used to repair the road soon before Dashain, but it did not carry out the repair work this year,” said Tukaraj Bhusal, another local.

Health centre officials say that the patients are the hardest hit by the poor condition of the roads. Yamlal Bhusal, chief at the health centre, said that all the patients visiting the health institute complain about the road. “The patients complain about the road. We asked the local unit to repair the road but to avail,” said Bhusal.

Shalikram Panthi, chief administrative officer of Madane Rural Municipality, admitted that the roads leading to the health centre are in a dilapidated condition due to heavy rainfall in the area. "The rural municipality has not allocated a budget to repair the road in the current fiscal year,” he added.