PALAKKAD: Even as the district administration is engaged in extravagant celebrations, marking four years of the LDF-led government’s rule, the tribal communities of Parambikulam are suffering due to a lack of medical facilities.

The only Public Health Centre (PHC) serving 11 tribal hamlets in the area has been operating without a single doctor for over four weeks.

Due to this brazen neglect, even a fever could prove to be life-threatening for over 1,500 tribal residents, most of whom live at distance of 10-40 km from the defunct PHC.

With every sanctioned post from doctors to nurses to pharmacists, the health centre is now a ghost structure, offering neither care nor hope.

“It’s an utter disgrace,” fumed Kalpana Devi, president of the Muthalamada panchayat.

“This hospital was supposed to be the medical backbone of these tribal settlements. Today, not even a single health worker is present. There are no junior public health nurses or health nurses, no clerk, no lady health inspector, and not even a pharmacist. It is a complete collapse.”

Thajudheen P, vice-president of the panchayat, painted a harrowing picture: “Pregnant women receive no check-ups. Children run fevers with no access to medicine. We have seen cases of intrauterine deaths and pre-term births go untreated. This is not just a failure — it is criminal negligence.”