One of the important points, which was endorsed by the editor (Chandra Prasad Saikia who edited Natun Dainik) himself that the mobile theatres should be used as a communicator of various welfare schemes to the masses in rural areas. In return, the theatre groups should be financially supported by the government as it is done in the case of newspapers and channels.

It is mentionable that the mobile theatre of Assam is a unique institution, which performs plays and dance dramas in various parts of the region. Assam has nearly 30 active theatre groups, each comprising around 150 artistes and other workers and one count has it that there are more than 100 other small groups in the state.

These perform plays for nearly nine months in the year, starting in August, during which period they roam across the state. At an average, a theatre group performs two evening shows a day. They share some similarities with the Yatra groups of Bengal and they even carry their pandals, multi-stages, lighting and sound equipment along with other necessities to every location where they perform.

Most of the plays of these theatres are based on Assamese literature and folk tales. But sometimes mythological themes are also adopted by the playwright.

Considering their access to the rural population, the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) in Assam launched a special project in 2008 with their involvement to carry messages related to government-sponsored medical care facilities. The concept was materialized by an Assamese mass communication expert.  The initial three-month pilot project was successfully executed by Asomee Dutta Baruah, where the experience was successful for both the NRHM (Assam) and Ms Dutta Baruah’s Eastern Communications Network.

The Union Government of India initiated for NRHM in 2005 to carry out necessary architectural correction in the basic health care delivery system as it was felt that public health is an important aspect in the process of economic and social development and improving the quality of citizens’ life. The initiative also aimed at mainstreaming the Indian systems of medicine to facilitate health care.

A government brochure says, the NRHM ( 2005-2012 ) is a national effort at ensuring effective healthcare through a range of interventions at individual, household, community, and most critically at the health  system levels. However, despite considerable gains in health status over the past few decades in terms of increased life expectancy, reductions in mortality and morbidity in India there exists serious challenges in the sector till today.

The primary goals of NRHM include reducing the infant mortality rate and maternal mortality ratio by at least 50% from existing levels in the next few years, universalizing access to public health services for women’s health, child health, water, hygiene, sanitation & nutrition, preventing communicable and non-communicable diseases, providing access to integrated comprehensive primary healthcare and finally ensuring population stabilization, gender and demographic balance, added the government brochure.

Conceived as an umbrella mission comprising various different programmes under the health and family welfare to deal with Malaria, TB, Kala Azar, Filaria, Blindness & Iodine Deficiency etc, the NRHM emphasizes on increasing public expenditure on health, reducing regional imbalance in health infrastructure, integration of organizational structures, optimization of health manpower, decentralization and district management of health programmes, community participation and ownership of assets in each block of the country.

Though it is affective throughout the country,  the northeastern states along with Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Orissa, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Uttaranchal , Jammu & Kashmir, which have reportedly weak public health infrastructure, have been focused specially.

One of the important components of NRHM’s plan of action is the engagement of female Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHA), which acts as a bridge between the health authority and the village women.

The word ASHA in Assamese language means the hope and the Asha ladies are expected to bring hope to the village women.  The central government bears the expenditure of training, incentives and medical kits to an Asha lady. The rest is taken care of by the concerning State governments.

 

Assam has nearly 30 active theatre groups, each comprising around 150 artistes and other workers and one count has it that there are more than 100 other small groups in the state.

The Eastern Communications Network under the leadership of Ms Dutta Baruah designed a dance drama titled ‘Amar Asha’ introducing the role of Asha ladies in the theatres. The 45 minutes dance drama narrates the story of Moneswar, a drunkard villager. He is a daily wage-earner and whatever he earns after the day’s work, Moneswar usually spends on country liquor.  So he usually forgets to take care of his pregnant wife at home, who is in an advanced stage of her pregnancy. On a fateful evening, Moneswar arrives home very late. Fully drunk Moneswar wants food from his wife, who had already started suffering from labour pain. As his wife could not cook that night, Moneswar gets angry and keeps beating his wife.

Then comes the village Asha lady into the scene and she finds that Moneswar’s wife has given birth to a still - born baby and she dies of acute pain. While advising Moneswar, the Asha lady throws her guidelines to the audience on various precautions to be taken for a pregnant woman. Moreover, she talks about  the concerned government schemes as well, by which the villagers can be immensely benefited. The play enriched with music, dances, colourful lights and dialogue, make the show enjoyable and also useful for the rural viewers.

Launched by Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh in April 2005, the NRHM is recognised as a pragmatic initiative of the UPA government to provide quality health care in the most remote rural areas by making it accessible, affordable and accountable. The Centre had already committed to raising public expenditure on health from one per cent of the GDP to two-three per cent within the period of the mission culminating in 2012.

No doubt, the initiative succeeded in returning the issue of public health to the top of the government agenda to a large extent. It also seemingly put considerable pressure on the state governments to divert resources to the health sector, thereby substantially strengthening the public health system, including its workforce. But sadly, these achievements have not fulfilled the target originally conceptualised. There may be many reasons for non-fulfillment of the mission in different states. In Assam, Ms Dutta Baruah points out that a section of NRHM, Assam officials have indulged in corruption.

“The innovative media project of disseminating NRHM, Assam’s health messages through mobile theatre groups among the marginalised sections scattered in the remotest places of the state is today at the centre of controversy and graft due to unethical personal pecuniary interests of certain officials of NRHM, Assam, and an unscrupulous so-called media agency,” she argued.

Ms Dutta Baruah, who had worked with Doordarshan, Zee TV, UTV and EL TV, conceptualised the project after meeting Girish Chaturvedi, then NRHM executive director, and started the innovative media project with the support of state health minister Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma. After the pilot project was completed in 2008, Ms Dutta Baruah urged Dr Sarma for a full-fledged project involving 18 theatre groups for the next year (season), but amazingly the project was already offered to Monalisa India.com.

Speaking to this writer, Ms Dutta Baruah asserted that the malpractices in fund distribution by the NRHM, Assam started soon. The then Mission Director Dr JB Ekka remained silent on such issues. “The malpractices came to light with a one-sided order (dated August 29, 2011) of Prateek Hazela, who is the present State Mission Director (NRHM) of Department of Health & Family Welfare, Government of Assam, where Mr Hazela, IAS, ordered financial support for some groups like Himalaya Theater, Arunodoy Theater, Alakananda Theater, Chitralekha Theater etc, which were either closed down years back or simply did not exist. Mr Hazela, who succeeded Dr JB Ekka in August 2011, was contacted through official emails for his clarification and he  only claimed that  ‘no financial support is extended to any theatre groups by NRHM, Assam directly’. “The  NRHM, Assam undertakes media campaign in mobile theatre groups through an empanelled agency which pays the theatres for the NRHM publicity activities the agency carries out in that  theatre group. The involved agency in turn gets its payment from NRHM. A memorandum of understanding is entered into with the agency for a period of one year,” said Mr Hazela.

The Mission Director also added, “To begin with, the agency projects the names of certain mobile theatres (along with its route plans) in which the empanelled agency intends to carry out NRHM publicity activities. The system of mobile theatre functioning is such that some theatre groups though operating today, may not be operational at a later date. Similarly, there may be some mobile theatres which though may not be in operation today, might start operating at a later date. The payment to the Agency is made based on the publicity actually carried out in the mobile theatre shows actually held.”

Ms Dutta Baruah has more to add, “The mobile theatre of Assam, a cultural identity for the people of the state, has been trying to sustain itself without much support from the government’s side. And the highhandedness of NRHM, Assam, which seeks to deprive genuine theatre groups only to benefit a certain section of advertising agencies like Monalisa India.com reflects the mockery of the system that hopelessly fails to fulfill the aspirations of an industry upon which thousands of families directly depend for their livelihood.”

She also claims that a media budget of around Rs 100 crore was prepared for 2010-11 without any impact analysis activities and despite having written letters from some top mobile groups like Kohinoor Theater, Hengul Theater and Bhagyadebi Theater with 16 others for 2011-12, her agency (ECN) was sidelined.

The  mission director (NRHM Assam) however clarified that only `33 core was approved for all kinds of media work  including print advertisement, TV advertisement, theatre, district expenditure etc in the year 2010-11 and the NRHM, Assam has already taken steps to undertake impact analysis study’.

Mr Hazela  also  added, “Newspaper advertisement calling for applications from organisations capable of carrying out such study was published in newspapers in July-August, 2011. As a response to this advertisement, 19  numbers of applications have been received. Selection of appropriate party to carry out the impact assessment works would be completed shortly.”

Answering the allegation  of Ms Dutta Baruah that ‘Monalisa India.com is the very agency from which NRHM, Assam, recovered money on account of false billing against closed theatres in 2010-11, but once again it was awarded the entire work by the Mission Director’, Dr Ekka admitted that some amount of money was recovered from Monalisa India.com.

Responding to the queries of this correspondent, Dr Ekka  (now the Tax Commissioner of the State) stated, “As far as the non existent theatre groups are concerned, as soon as the matter was brought to notice, the amount was recovered from the agency.”

Now there is rousing public opinion that the State Heath Department should consider implementing the policies related to NRHM message through mobile theatres. Ms Dutta Baruah, who has worked extensively in folk media involving Yatra, Bhaona, tea folk forms and Bengali folk songs also agrees with the idea.

In a letter (dated September 14, 2011) to the State Health Minister Dr Sarma, Ms Dutta Baruah reiterated, “Getting the project was not my sole intention. So I would like to propose the State government to consider supporting the mobile theatre groups directly, if the government feels that it can reach the masses effectively, rather then allowing business benefits to unscrupulous agencies who simply do not possess real interest on theatres and also commitment to the society.”