A few years ago, a major accident took place near KK Nagar. The victim was taken to the nearest government hospital but was sent away as the hospital did not have trauma care facilities. While being rushed to the Government Royapettah hospital, over 10 km away, he died. For residents of neighbourhoods such as Ashok Nagar, KK Nagar, Jafferkhanpet, Nesapakkam, Saidapet, Guindy, Vadapalani and surrounding areas, the Government Peripheral Hospital, KK Nagar, could have been of immense help if it had been made a multi-speciality trauma care centre. Encroachments however have not allowed this to happen.
“When the housing board colonies of Ashok Nagar and KK Nagar were being created between 1958 and 1963, 120 grounds of land were acquired by the Land Acquisition Officer and handed over to the Housing Board for creation of a ‘peripheral hospital,’ which would be an extended arm of the Royapettah Hospital. Back then, these areas were peripheral parts of the city. The hospital was constructed on 20 grounds in 1978, the remaining was left for future expansion. But, over the years, slums have come up on the land, hindering any such plans,” says R. Ravichandran of Citizens’ Guardians, a voluntary organisation working to reclaim the land for its stated purpose.
Tenements came up in 1998 on over 70 grounds. “An eviction drive at slums happened in Teynampet. As a temporary arrangement, these people were put up at the vacant land of the hospital. And they have stayed here ever since. Neither the hospital nor the government officials have taken any steps to remove these encroachments and expand the facility to a multi-speciality unit,” he says. Another 18 grounds are under litigation in the Supreme Court.
“All of the slum dwellers have received allotments in tenements created by the Slum Clearance Board on OMR. They should be asked to move there so that the area gets a multi-speciality hospital,” says Kadayam S. Ramasami, a social worker.
Shakti G. Saravanan says that the existing hospital system is inadequate. “Over 100 outpatients visit the hospital on a daily basis, but doctors are not available for most part of the day. Consulation is done only in the morning hours. Complaints have been registered at R-10 MGR Nagar police station about people being denied treatment at the hospital,” says this member of MGR Nagar and Jafferkhanpet Residents’ Welfare Association.
Now, when Citizen’s Guardians re-launches its campaigns, the Peripheral Hospital will be on top of its agenda.
“There may be many private hospitals which are now allowed to take accident cases, but how many can afford the treatment. A government facility is the need of the hour for the entire south-west Chennai,” says Ravichandran.
The updated website of the Citizen’s Guardians will be available in a week’s time.
“We are planning to campaign on Twitter, Facebook and all other online social networking resources. We will work till we get a full-fledged hospital for this part of the city. It will save many precious lives,” the group says.
Ravichandran can be contacted at 99413 76330.
