Malkapur mayor shoots dismal state of isolation hosp

Shishir Arya | TNN | Apr 16, 2020, 04:05 IST

Nagpur: The mayor of Malkapur town in Buldhana district landed up at the Covid-19 isolation hospital as a patient, and had to resort to social media to vent his ire at the mismanagement.
Harish Rawal heads the municipal council in Malkapur, a town in Buldhana district. He reported at the hospital in Buldhana city after he had been in contact with a Covid-19 positive patient.
Rawal, who has been in the isolation hospital for four days, released a video showing lack of essential facilities, including water in the toilets. Even as Rawal claimed his video had made an impact, district collector Suman Chandra fired back in the same manner. The collector also released a video refuting Rawal’s claims.
In his four-minute video Rawal, who has covered his face with a handkerchief, goes around the corridor reaching the toilet. He goes to the wash basin and the lavatory, and shows there is no running water in the taps. Rawal appealed to the authorities to intervene and improve the conditions.
Rawal also says in the video he had heard that seven persons had fled the hospital due to the poor conditions. He also alleged lack of cleanliness in the hospital.
Talking to TOI over phone, Rawal alleged that besides lack of basic facilities, even the staffers were rude. “When I raised a voice the staffers asked me to keep quite or else I would be beaten up. They were taken aback when I told them that I am the mayor of Malkapur,” said Rawal.
He said even the food is kept in a corner and many times inmates don’t even realize that the packets have arrived. Another video by Rawal shows food packets being left on the floor in the corridor. “Things have improved after I put up the video,” he told TOI.
Meanwhile, the collector also released a video in which she does not name Rawal but says that a responsible person admitted in the hospital behaved irresponsibly by spreading wrong information. When contacted by TOI for a comment Chandra said her video was self explanatory.
The video by the collector said action will be initiated against the person for spreading rumours that seven persons had fled the hospital. The records were checked and all the patients were present and were undergoing treatment.
Chandra said the person raised the issue on social media merely for publicity, without even taking up the matter with the concerned authorities first. An inquiry showed that his claims were false.