Chandigarh colony stigmatised: Corona tag shuts hospital doors on Bapu Dham

CHANDIGARH: The tag of Covid-19 containment zone doesn't let Bapu Dham get any help for other diseases. Hospitals refuse to take in dwellers of this urban slum, disparage them, and isolate them even if they test negative for coronavirus.
A colony woman needed emergency medical care for menstrual bleeding, a condition which had worsened over a month of lockdown. She said: "I called an ambulance, which took me to the Manimajra civil hospital, where when they got to know I was from Bapu Dham, they locked me up in some room. Someone from the lower staff let me out when I started crying.” Since the incident, the woman's neighbour, who has hypothyroid and irregular menses, is scared to go to the hospital.
Senior citizens living with diabetes and abnormal blood pressure are unable to go for follow-ups. A senior resident said: “Diabetes has left me with eye complications but I can't go to a private clinic for checkup. Government hospitals will lock me up as soon as they come to know that I am from Bapu Dham."
Another resident, who has fungal infection of the skin, is forced to rub coconut oil on the rash. She said: “The doctor I went to told me to use this home remedy, take sunbath, and not bother him. The infection is worsening.”
Friday's lot of 51 patients was the biggest shifted to post-discharge quarantine facility at Sood Dharamshala. Seven dwellers of Bapu Dham tested positive, taking the active cases to 31. Total discharged patients are now 273, while 18 test reports are awaited.