Tuesday, May 31, 2011

A Healthcare Issue: Private hospitals' efficiency questioned

IIPM Prof. Arindam Chaudhuri on Internet Hooliganism

"My father was suffering from high blood pressure but the doctors at the hospital ignored it and followed a faulty drug administration procedure," Sibasish Pradhan, son of Odissi dance maestro Gangadhar Pradhan, alleged soon after his father's death at Apollo Hospital, Bhubaneswar. He accused the doctors of wilful negligence and has lodged a police complaint. The 62-year-old Odissi exponent was admitted in the hospital on October 2. However, Apollo’s chief executive officer, Pankaj Mankad, denied allegations of neglect. He said that the doctors had tried their best to save the guru, with a team of experts attending on him. But Pradhan's relatives and son refused to buy this argument. “My father was admitted with complaints of chest pain and headache . The doctors first conducted an angioplasty and then performed a surgery. His condition deteriorated soon after and subsequently he died,” complained Sibasish.

Subahnkar Mohanty has also lost his father due to the alleged negligence of doctors at the same hospital. His father Sarat Kumar Mohanty was a former director of Doordarshan. He was admitted to the hospital for a minor intestine operation. Soon after the operation on July 14, Mohanty complained of acute pain near the operated area. He was immediately shifted to the ICU and the doctors told the family that the pain was due to some cardiac problem. “After keeping him in the ICU for three days, the doctors told us that my father had developed some complication for which he needed a test which could only be done in Mumbai. He died the next the day before the test could be done,” said a distraught Subahnkar.

Tamasa Sethy, widow of former Assistant Commissioner of Commercial Tax Harihar Sethy, said, “Neither the hospital staff nor the doctors cooperated with us. Instead, they harassed us. The nurses did not attend to the patients properly.” Sethy died in Kalinga Hospital in Bhubaneswar while under treatment for H1N1 flu.
Private health care facilities are mushrooming in Bhubaneswar. But the number of complains regarding the sub-standard treatment and wilful negligence is also on rise at the same time. “The government should keep an eye on these high profile hospitals which charge a lot of money but do not look keen on the quality of the service. Otherwise people will be exploited in the name of 'good treatment',” said a professor at the SCB Medical College on condition of anonymity.

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Friday, May 27, 2011

Winds of change have started blowing in West Bengal

IIPM Prof. Arindam Chaudhuri on Internet Hooliganism

In Marxism, religion does not mix with politics. Remember the raging debate that was triggered in 2006 when the then minister for sports and CPM leader Subhash Chakraborty paid obeisance to Goddess Kali at Tarapith?

But ironically the leftist aversion to religion did not stop the CPM from using Durga Puja festivities to reach out to the people of the state. It was customary for the party to set up stalls around Puja pandals for the purpose. Over the years, the number of such stalls crossed the 100-mark in Kolkata and touched 1,000 across West Bengal. However, the picture was very different this year. In the CPM stronghold of Barasat West, the regional committee of the party put up a stall and duly inaugurated it on Saptami, the first day of Durga Puja. But it remained shut for the entire duration of the festivities. Local CPM leaders cited lack of manpower for this state of affairs.

And it wasn't just Barasat where this happened. In various other towns of
Bengal such in Durgapur, Asansol, Barrackpur and Siliguri CPM stalls selling Marxist literature were conspicuous by their absence.

They were replaced by stalls named after Jaago Bangla (Arise Bengal), the mouthpiece of the Trinamool Congress. According to Trinamool functionaries officials, “This year over 100 Jago Bangla stalls were put up in the city and many other parts of the state.” Twenty-three books written by Trinamool supremo Mamata Banerjee sold like hot cakes from these stalls, as did six to seven monographs on the Singur-Nandigram movements.

Mamata is losing no opportunity to appeal to the devout in Bengal. She is everywhere, demonstrating unfailing religious fervour. From offering namaaz during Eid to ribbon cutting at Durga Puja pandals, she has been in overdrive, here eyes set firmly on next year's Assembly polls.

In comparison with 12 Durga Puja inauguration requests after the 2004 Lok Sabha elections (Mamata was the single Trinamool MP in Lok Sabha back then) this year more than 300 puja organisers requested her presence in puja mandaps in different parts of Bengal.

It’s not that CPM was total casual about the winds of change. Party leaders did their utmost to grasp the meaning of the new phenomenon that is unfolding in Bengal and do something reversing the trend. From state party secretary Biman Bose to state health minister Suryakanta Misra, almost all the topmost party leaders contributed articles to the Puja specials of their party mouthpieces. But On Bijoya Dashami, in Barrackpur, revellers used green gulaal instead of the traditional red. A sign of things to come?

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Monday, May 23, 2011

Narmada movement: Non-violence is not easy

IIPM Prof. Arindam Chaudhuri on Internet Hooliganism

It is important for us to increase the support base of the Narmada Bachao movement

In the last two and a half decades, Narmada Bachao Andolan has been a great learning experience for me. But the aspect that has influenced me the most is my belief in the non-violent means of struggle. Non-violent struggle is not easy. It is often long drawn out and requires patience. It can never be a lone struggle. It requires the spine of an organisation and the help and support of the masses. This struggle was possible because of the love and support of the people of the Narmada Valley. Apart from that, the moral support provided by similar movements in India and world also came handy.

I am of the opinion that it is necessary for this sort of struggle to remain non-violent. In fact, we have always considered nation building and constructive approach as a part and parcel of my struggle. But my idea of building, idea of construction is different from the prevalent perceptions. It is an antidote or rather alternative to the current development model that is destructive in nature. A development that is inclusive and has respect for nature and other organisms.
Also, I believe that being non-violent does not mean being a coward. It is not about being quiet. Non-violence is about posing a challenge and keeping your dignity intact. But I don’t want a development that is at the cost of displacement and infringement of rights. In my view, development must respect and protect the rights of everybody. It should work for the benefit of the downtrodden. But the government does not want this kind of development. The government’s idea of development is based on giving goodies to corporate houses and protecting their interests. Laws are being made that are not pro-people, whether it is land acquisition laws or rehabilitation laws. All these laws have been made to suit the interests of the capitalists. But this will not continue for long. The masses will not wait till eternity. They are joining us in this struggle. We need to give them the alternative. We need to give them justice.

We are facing the challenge of globalisation threatening indigenous industries. How will we face this? In the last 25 years, Narmada Bachao Andolan has seen several ups and downs. But we have continued our struggle. We have changed a bit and have started focussing on inclusive development. But we need to formulate effective strategy. I am working on that. I am also trying to connect more and more people with this movement. We are trying to bring different sections together. We have challenged casteist forces. But we need to further increase the support base of our movement.

We have been trying to harmonise the society with the movement but it has only been partially successful. But the time has come when the society will see the benefit in joining the struggle. It is at a critical stage and people from all parts of the country are coming forward. It is because this developmental model is not merely affecting Narmada Valley people but the entire nation in some way or other. People are being displaced in Mumbai. Lands are being forcibly acquired in Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and Madhya Pradesh. Dams are being built in North-east that will displace hundreds of thousands of people. The big dams stand completely exposed today. The damage done by these dams is irreparable. The harm far outnumbers its benefits.

On the completion of 25 years of the Narmada Bachao movement, we did a series of rallies in Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh. People from 21 states, including Assam, West Bengal, Orissa, UP, Bihar, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu participated in the rallies. It reflects people are still optimistic about non-violent struggle. Also, apart from the masses, we also need to bring in more and more intellectuals.

The structure of the development models are based on laws. But laws are anti-people. This has led to continuous infringement of Human Rights Violation. It is also against the basic fundamental rights of the constitution. The conflict between constitution and law is very evident. I want to make the masses aware of this conflict. Everyone has to do his or her bit. The struggle needs better co-ordination. We need to take up newer causes too. The issue of agriculture land and industries needs to be taken up. In every part of this country, livelihood is at stake. There is a need of a consolidated movement. This movement will pose a challenge to anti-people policies. We also need to intervene in electoral politics. We had constituted a Lok Manch prior to the elections. We need to strengthen this. Only if we are able to expand the movement that we can intervene forcefully. We have carried the flag for 25 years and will continue doing so. New ideas and new strategies will infuse new lease of life to the movement. We are positive that we will win.

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