India is dealing with COVID, but people in Bhadohi, Uttar Pradesh, are fighting a different battle
Bhadohi – which came into existence 27 years ago – does not have a district hospital. The construction funds were misappropriated by the officials and suppliers. People are still waiting
The unfinished hospital has turned into shambles in these 12 years.
At present, the entire world is dealing with the coronavirus pandemic. In India, thousands of cases are coming up every day and the virus has managed to spread its tentacles in rural India as well.
While the healthcare facilities in rural areas are trying their best to deal with the present situation, people living in Bhadohi district of Uttar Pradesh are fighting a different battle – there is no district hospital functional here.
Bhadohi is 250 kms away from Uttar Pradesh’s capital Lucknow and was earlier a part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s parliamentary seat, Varanasi. It became a separate district on June 30, 1994 – the 65th district of Uttar Pradesh — and the government named it Bhadohi. It’s been 26 years since then, but Bhadohi could not even get a district hospital.
People have been trying, but their efforts and yielding no results. The battle has now gained ground through social media. A Satyagraha movement has been launched, rallies are being taken out and letter campaigns are being run.
Bhadohi is also known as the carpet city. Carpets made here are in demand in most parts of the county. India exports handmade carpets worth about Rs 12,000 crore annually. The share of Bhadohi carpets stands at Rs 10, 000 crore. Although in terms of area, Bhadohi is the smallest district in Uttar Pradesh, but its annual contribution to the GDP of the state exceeds Rs 3,000 crore, way higher than many of the major districts. As per the 2011 census, Bhadohi has a population of more than 15 lakh. Yet, there is no district hospital. Efforts were made and work had started, but the construction stopped after the building was half ready.
Hospital funds misappropriated
In January 2008, a blueprint was prepared to build a state-of-the-art, 100-bed hospital at Sarpataha in the Gyanpur block in Bhadohi. On March 27, 2008, the Uttar Pradesh State Construction Corporation Limited was entrusted with the responsibility of building the hospital. At that time, the BSP government was in power in the state. The then BSP minister, Ranganath Mishra, had laid the foundation of the district hospital that year. A budget of Rs 14 crore was sanctioned.
It was only after four years, in 2012, that authorities woke up to the fact that the hospital work was incomplete. The reason for the delay was sought. The then district magistrate, Amrit Tripathi, formed a two-member team to investigate the matter. As per the report, about 90 per cent of the total budget was spent, but only 45 to 50 per cent of the construction work was done. So, in the same year, the remaining funds were released for constructing the hospital. The government allocated funds worth Rs 14 crore, but Rs 18 crore was spent, and yet there is no district hospital.
The additional medical officer, Bhadohi, filed a case in the Gyanpur Kotwali on December 20, 2012. In 2014, Ranvir Prasad, the then district magistrate of Bhadohi, told Arvind Kumar, the then Principal Secretary, Medical and Health Family Welfare, Uttar Pradesh, that Rs 833 lakh (Rs 8.33 crore) has been embezzled by the company that was given the responsibility to construct the hospital and demanded registration of an FIR against the culprits. The construction work has been on hold since January 2014.
What did the government do?
In 2019, the government took notice. The BJP government in the state constituted a special investigation team to probe the scam. In the case, a suit was filed under Section 406 and 409 against the then project manager Girija Shankar Dixit, and suppliers Ramkumar Singh, Hansraj Singh (deceased) and Munshi Singh. The project manager also had to go to jail. He is now out on bail.
A case has also been filed against Bhadohi’s current block chief Prashant Singh, alias Chittu Singh. It is alleged that his firm, SKR, also misappropriated the money. He told Gaon Connection over the phone: “At the time (2012 end or the beginning of 2013), when the case had come up, elections for the block head were being held, and I was a candidate. I was falsely charged. I didn’t even own the company. Nothing happened after the FIR was filed.”
He added: “Ramkumar Singh, Hansraj Singh and Munshi Singh were all labour suppliers who are called petty contractors. The contracts were given to third parties. All these people were the suppliers. When the project manager, Girija Shankar Dixit, was removed, the next project manager, VK Srivastava, gave in writing that Prashant Singh did not have a role in the matter. More than 14 officers investigating the case have been changed already. Two FIRs were lodged in the case; one by the district police and the other by the health department. Fingers should be pointed at these agencies, not the suppliers.”
Later, the project manager, VK Srivastava, was also booked by the Uttar Pradesh State Construction Corporation Limited in 2019. It was alleged that he had committed irregularities, but no details were provided.
What is happening now?
The unfinished hospital has turned into shambles in these 12 years. When the whole world came in the grip of the first wave (2020) of the coronavirus pandemic, it came to the notice of the people living in Bhadohi that there were no ventilators in the government hospitals in their district. Lakshmi Singh, chief medical officer, Bhadohi, had informed last year that there were only two ventilators in Bhadohi which belong to the private hospitals.
The people of Bhadohi are now running a campaign for the district hospital. A Satyagraha agitation is going on in Bhadohi and hashtags like #योगीजीभदोहीमांगेजिलाअस्पताल are trending on Twitter. The highlight of the campaign is that those who have moved out from Bhadohi are also actively participating in the campaign. A large number of youngsters and social workers are also a part of the campaign.
“The people of Bhadohi have now made up their minds that there should be a district hospital here,” said Harish Singh, a social activist and a senior journalist, who is a part of the silent Satyagraha movement. “Everybody is fighting at one’s level. We have also begun a symbolic movement. Unless the hospital is finished, our fight shall continue. Our demand is that the hospital should be built at the earliest so that people can get better health facilities. It is unfortunate for the district that even after so many years, there is no district hospital,” he added.
Sanjay Srivastava, a social activist and the convener of Hamar Bhadohi, said: “When someone meets with an accident, the victim is referred elsewhere. This is the only thing that happens in government hospitals in Bhadohi. The patient is referred to as soon as more than putting four stitches is required. The critically- injured people pass away on the way to Varanasi. It is now necessary to start the functioning of the district hospital. It is very important for the people of Bhadohi. For the first time, the youth of Bhadohi living in metros are also participating in the campaign.”
He said that the people of Bhadohi are also writing letters to the Uttar Pradesh government in which their demand is that the district hospital should be started at Bhadohi at the earliest.
Bhadohi currently has two major hospitals, one in Gyanpur block, Maharaja Chet Singh, and the other at Bhadohi, Maharaja Balwant Singh Hospital. Both the hospitals are not able to take up serious cases and the patients are referred elsewhere.
The public representatives have also come into action after the issue got highlighted on social media. Bhadohi MP Dr Ramesh Chand Bind and MLA Ravindra Tripathi met the district magistrate in this context and spoke about the construction of the hospital. Meanwhile, BJP MLA from Urai Assembly, Dinanath Bhaskar, has demanded the state health minister Jai Pratap Singh to complete the hospital at the earliest.
Gaon Connection spoke to Bhadohi MP Dr Ramesh Chand Bind. He said: “I have also asked the central government to build a district hospital in Bhadohi. I have also spoken to the state government. In view of the corona crisis, I have also given Rs 50 lakh from the MP fund that is to be spent towards hospital construction.”
He added: “The district hospital work could not be completed due to scams during the previous governments. And the demand for the district hospital is absolutely justified. There is a carpet industry here. A large number of labourers also come here. It is very important for the district to have a hospital of 100 beds. We are now aware of the importance of it. I have demanded from the state government that the investigations may continue, but the hospital work should also be started, it is very important for the people of the district.”
Health facilities within the state
Uttar Pradesh is the largest state in the country in terms of population, but its health facilities are not as robust.
There are 4,635 government hospitals in the state, comprising district hospitals, and primary and community health centres deploying a total of 76,260 doctors. 77 per cent (more than 15 crore) population of the state lives in villages having 4,442 hospitals and 39,104 beds. There is one bed per about 3,900 patients. The primary health facilities of the state fare much worse. The primary health centres need 3,621 doctors, but only 1,344 doctors are available. This information was provided by the Union Health Ministry in a report in Lok Sabha in 2019.
As per the report, 942 primary health centres (PHCs) in Uttar Pradesh do not have a regular supply of electricity and water and 213 primary health centres in the state do not have electricity. There is no regular water supply in 270 and there are 459 centres where the roads are so bad that they cannot be properly accessed.
Note: This report was first published on June 13, 2020. It has been updated with the latest details as of June 12, 2021.