Gurdaspur Diary: Pathankot civil hospital caught in quagmire

Now long ago, the Pathankot civil hospital was adjudged the No. 1 government hospital in Punjab. It however had its reputation sullied last week when a middle-aged woman was forced to give birth to a daughter on the floor of the corridor leading to the labour room. The incident caught the fancy of the media who overplayed and overhyped it. Insiders say such incidents do keep on happening but this one hit the social media platforms because it was being filmed by a driver of a private hospital. It is another matter that the hospital management filed a complaint with the police against the filmmaker. Civil Surgeon Dr Rubinder Kaur was on leave when the incident took place. Keeping in view the sensitivity of the matter and also the fact that the national media had started savouring it, the doctor cut short her leave and rejoined duty. Meanwhile, the National Commission for Scheduled Castes, too, took cognisance of the goings-on and sent a notice to the management. Dr Kaur’s deft handling of the situation was admired by even her detractors although there are not many of them. She took hold of the best option available to her. She informed her seniors in Chandigarh, who in turn, asked her to hold an inquiry. Everybody knows that when such inquiries are announced, or for that matter when committees are formed to deal with such unsavoury situations, instead of going into the depth of the matter they tend to kill the very purpose they are set up for. The same thing has happened here. The probe recommended a “strict warning” to a gynaecologist who had already announced her resignation a few days ago and was serving her three-month notice period. A Medical Officer was shifted. Two low-rung employees were transferred from the labour room to other wards. In due course of time, particularly after the dust settles down, they will surely be brought back. In this way, the probe concluded and practically everybody was let off the hook.

Gurdaspur hoteliers on verge of winding up businesses

Gurdaspur District Hotels Association president Romesh Mahajan is a sad man these days. He claims the hotel industry has been badly hit for an assortment of reasons. Firstly, the by-passes came up on the national highway. This meant that travellers who used to make a stop-over in this city now no longer do so. They tend to travel directly to the Vaishno Devi Temple from various parts of the country. Then came Covid and the virus started eating into their businesses. And now comes the Punjab Government’s decision to levy a whopping 22 per cent GST on the sale of liquor if it is served in the bars of hotels. Customers, instead of dining in hotels, prefer to go to dhabas and other eateries.

Bureaucrat to facilitate linkages between Voter & Aadhar

The Gurdaspur administration has decided to entrust ADC (General) Dr Nidhi Kumud Bambah with the task of linking all voter cards of this district with Aadhar cards. This is an onerous task but then the doctor is no stranger to taking up such work. She is a strict disciplinarian and everybody who matters in the corridors of powers knows this. She hails the initiative and says such an exercise will help the government weed out bogus voters.

(Contributed by Ravi Dhaliwal)