Only mental asylum in Bihar houses CPMF

Patna, Jun 22 (UNI) The newly built mental hospital at Koelwar in Bhojpur district is presently providing shelter to the Central Para Military Force(CPMF) jawans, who had been deployed to counter naxalite menace in the area.

Bihar had no mental hospital after Jharkhand was carved out from it in November 2000. Kanke mental hospital, the only hospital for mentally challenged persons of undivided Bihar went into the territory of Jharkhand. Bihar government has no option but to incur expenditure for treatment of its residents which results in heavy burden on state exchequer.

The Bihar government then decided to establish its own mental hospital at Koelwar. Though its outdoor facilities started functioning only a few days back but this 250-bed mental asylum is still awaiting a formal inauguration.

Dr Ashok Kumar Prasad Singh, Director of the asylum, said that fifty per cent built-up area of the hospital is still occupied by the CRPF personnel who were deployed in the district to counter the naxal threats. He said he had requested the health department to get the asylum free from the central forces.

Mr Singh informed that mental hospital at Koelwar, which was once a TB sanatorium would be governed by a committee headed by health secretary of Bihar. The health secretaries of Orissa and West Bengal would also be members of the committee. '' All the financial and administrative powers of running the hopital would be vested in the said committee,'' he added.

Professor and Head of the department of the Psychiatry, Patna Medical College and Hospital, Dr B K singh said that state did not have adeqate number of qualified and registered Psychiatrics to run the hospital. '' Even the director of the asylum must be an MD in psychiatry otherwise it would be a violation of the Mental Health Act 1987'', he added.

UNI XC-RS KK DB1604