Bandh adds woes to the ailing people

Bishnu Prasad Aryal
Kathmandu, June 1

It is a tale of ordinary people that the political groups never worry about the suffering of commoners while calling the strikes and bandhs. However, they still continue staging strikes for the partisan interests.

“We suffered more than enough from the strike called for today,” said Rabina Khokhali, hailed from Nawalpur of Sindhupalchowk district. “Whoever the organisers are, they troubled the people for nothing wrong they did,” she further said.

It was fate for her mother Chandeshwori Khokhali, 63, who slipped and fell at her home yesterday afternoon. Her right hand broke. They booked a vehicle on Rs 8,000 and reached to Kathmandu Model Hospital in Kathmandu but it was late afternoon and did not get admission at hospital due to delay and lack of vacant bed.

“We were compelled to return to Bhaktapur yesterday,” Khokhali said. However, this day was also more painful for them. They searched for an ambulance at around 10:00 am this morning but seven ambulances rejected their proposal by saying Kathmandu was far from Bhaktapur and bandh organisers might vandalise the ambulance.

The bandh was called in the Kathmandu Valley today by the Joint Action Committee for Newa Autonomous State, an apex body of the Newar organisations, demanding a Newa State to include in the new constitution. The organisers did not allow plying even motor cycles and bicycles on the roads.

“Luckily, an eighth ambulance agreed to carry us to Kathmandu Model Hospital at noon. Hospital called us at 10 am but we arrived here at 1:00 pm,” she said, adding that altogether Rs 10,000 was spent on vehicle to manage to bring her mother to hospital. “This amount would have been saved if we had got to treat my mother at my local heath post.”

She said that there were two positions of doctors at the local hospital. “However, none of them has been present for two weeks,” she said. “Administration has always neglected such serious issues related to common people. We suffered but may others not face such difficulties,” she added.

This is not a single case of people searching for treatment from the hospital. Arjun Basnet from Ropla, who is studying in GCE Cambridge A level at Xavier International College, came to show his blood report at KMH but he could not meet his doctor. “Doctor could not come to hospital despite his schedule as no vehicle was allowed to run,” said an official at the hospital.

According to the KMH administration, only 73 patients visited hospital for treatment today. The number was 341 yesterday.

Story of the government owned biggest Bir Hospital is no more different from this one. Only 300 patients registered their names today for the treatment while 1,200 patients regularly visit hospital everyday. “Only one third of its medical staff are present today due to the bandh,” said an official at the administration section of Bir Hospital.

This feature news was published in THE HIMALAYAN TIMES, dated June 2, 2009.