Recently in Chattisgarh two health camps were held – a cataract camp and a female sterilization camp. Many people who were treated in the cataract camp went blind. The female sterilization camp held a few days ago has a sordid tale.
In the female sterilization camp organized by the government at a hospital on the outskirts of Bilaspur town, tribal women were selected for the tubectomy procedures. The women included women from an endangered tribe. Some women were admitted to different hospitals after they developed post-operative complications. Some women died, some were seriously ill.
The questions that bother us are many. Why do such kinds of things happen mostly to the poor and vulnerable sections of society? What are the effects of such tragedies on the families of victims? Can suspension of some people in authority or compensation of any kind give back to the victims and their families what they have suffered and lost? Who is to decide in this case, who has to follow family planning methods and which method they should choose? How can an endangered tribe be protected by performing tubectomy procedures on their women?
The victims in this case are young women. But who cares? Leave alone remedial measures, even an apology is nowhere in sight. If the same things had happened to even one rich and influential person, the whole country would be up in arms. It is evident that the poor and the underprivileged are third class citizens in our country. Their deaths only count for statistics.
First and foremost the question that should engage our attention the most is ‘Why should such things happen at all?’ The state is supposed to provide healthcare, and that too of a good quality to all its people, irrespective of caste, class, gender, economic status etc. On the contrary, it is in these government organized health camps that such negligence, callousness and corruption of great magnitude are rampant. As in the case of this surgeon, Dr. R.K. Gupta, who had earlier been awarded for his work of a similar nature, is this a case of achieving certain targets set by the government?
Whatever happens, the occurrence of such disasters in quick succession should stop immediately. One of the most effective, immediate ways to do this would be to speedily punish, and punish severely, all those responsible for this catastrophe, even those in power or holding high positions of authority. Let these health camps be health promoting camps.
