12 months after mob vandalism, RG Kar emergency ward still lies abandoned

Time of India

3 days ago

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Kolkata: A year after the destruction caused by a mob, the emergency unit at RG Kar Medical College & Hospital remains abandoned. Kolkata Police, which arrested 88 people on charges of arson, calling it an "organised crime", are yet to file a preliminary charge sheet.
With no repairs carried out till date, the area where the bustling emergency medicine unit used to operate until Aug 14 last year, serves as a constant reminder of the mob attack on the intervening night between Aug 14 and 15. Initially sealed by the investigating agencies after the attack, the health department received the green signal for its repair and renovation last Oct. However, all that has been done so far is clearing of debris and damaged instruments, devices, broken beds, and chairs.
A well-equipped emergency unit with around 40 beds, including five HDU beds, and life-saving devices, like three ventilators, five BiPAP and monitoring machines each, ABG, and defibrillator machines, all went down in a few minutes during the vandalism.
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For close to a year, the emergency medicine unit has been working from a cramped space in the trauma care building that has only four beds and no ventilator, BiPAP, or defibrillator.
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There are only four oxygen ports. There is no room or toilet for doctors and nurses in the makeshift facilities.
"We often get serious patients at the emergency medicine unit with respiratory distress, even in odd hours, including those with stroke, sudden cardiac issues, and shock. We are operating without vital life-saving devices," said emergency medical officer Tapas Pramanick.
Official sources in the medical college said they need funds to rebuild the emergency unit from scratch, adding they are awaiting funds from the health department.
At Lalbazar, there is no explanation on why the preliminary charge sheet has not been filed, with senior officials claiming that key forensic reports are yet to arrive.
The last arrest in this case occurred last Sept. However, all of those arrested are currently out on bail.
On Oct 7 of last year, the court granted bail to all the detainees until Dec 30. Although there were a few dates for appearances in the new year, that was the extent of it. It appears that on each court date, the police have presented different claims. For the investigation of the incident, the police filed three separate cases at Shyampukur, Ultadanga, and Tala police stations. Overnight, Lalbazar formed an SIT of 15 members.
At one point, it was claimed that it was part of a deep-rooted conspiracy.
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