Residents lock hospital, hold staff captive

Tribune News Service

Bathinda, June 18

Members of various organisations and NGOs, led by Baba Devinder Singh Kuttiwal of the Nihang Singh Budha Dal, on Monday locked the main gate of the Civil Hospital in Maur Mandi. They vented ire over the absence of specialist doctors and other staff in the hospital.

The members, along with residents, constituted an 11-member committee, which convened a meeting and announced that Maur would observe a bandh on Tuesday.

Earlier during the day, the protesters sat outside the main gate of the hospital and raised slogans against the Health Department and the state government. Sensing that their protest didn’t have the “desired effect”, the protesters locked the gate, holding its staff captive. AAP MLA from Maur Jagdev Singh Kamalu, who had raised the issue in the Assembly as well, said, “For several years, posts of five general physician, one dentist, one ayurveda doctor, one eye specialist, one nurse, one midwife and 10 posts of sweeper had been lying vacant. The hospital is being run by a pharmacist.”

He added that the absence of doctors was making people suffer. They were forced to either go to Bathinda or Talwandi Sabo for treatment.

SDM Balwinder Singh, DSP Jagdish Bishnoi and SHO Amritpal Singh reached the spot and tried to pacify the protesters, but to no avail. The hospital staff, including three women, were inside the hospital till the filing of the report. Although the police tried to convince the protesters to at least let the female employees leave the hospital premises, the staff demanded that all of them be allowed to leave.

Civil Surgeon HN Singh said he had sent his senior medical officer to persuade the protesters to lift the dharna and let off the hospital staff, but they didn’t listen. He said they had already communicated to the higher authorities about the staff shortage at the hospital.