Hospital for gas victims facing closure: Jabbar

Bhopal, Sep 22 (UNI) Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Udyog Sangathan Convenor Abdul Jabbar today said that Bhopal Memorial Hospital and Research Centre (BMHRC) set up to provide super speciality treatment to the victims of world's worst industrial tragedy was on the verge of closure due to its management's dictorial attitude.

Mr Jabbar told reporters here today that more than 300 out of 650 employees left their jobs after being irked over the whims of management. The rest are also forced to search jobs at other places.

Major departments like Cardiology, Pulmonary, Neurology, Urology and Gastro Medicine and Surgery had only one or no senior doctor.

With such a state of affairs, survivors of the 1984 Bhopal gas tragedy were left in a lurch as they were deprived of proper treatment, Mr Jabbar said, adding the hospital management was deliberately creating such a situation so that the hospital was closed.

''The Supreme Court had taken initiative to set up the hospital to provide free treatment to gas victims but the management was not interested in it. The situation was worsening and efforts should be made to uplift it, Mr Jabbar added.

He claimed that acting on his petition the Supreme Court ordered on October 3, 1991 for setting up the 500-bed hospital, which started functioning in 2000.

UNI XC-KV SP 1648