A unique initiative involving the West Bengal Health Department and a non-government organisation here on Monday has brought hope to mentally ill patients of Kolkata’s Pavlov Hospital.
Ostracized by society and abandoned by their family members, patients of the biggest mental health facility in West Bengal can now dream of financial independence and a life beyond the confines of the hospital.
A memorandum of understanding for Dhobhi Ghar, a laundry project, was signed between the representative of State Health Department and Anjali, a mental health rights NGO, which at the outset will involve at least 12 patients who have recovered from their ailment but are unable to return home.
“Initially, we will be dry-cleaning clothes from hospitals and slowly we will take orders from hotels and restaurants. The 12 people who are involved in the project will be paid Rs 232 per day as per minimum wages laws,” said Ratnaboli Ray, who signed the MoU on behalf on Anjali.
While the machines for starting the project have been imported by the NGO, the Bengal government has provided necessary infrastructure and ensured water and electricity supply for the project.
“We thought that it was a good proposal to provide livelihood and rehabilitation to mental health patients. This is the first such initiative taken in Bengal involving mental health patients,” Moloy De, Principal Secretary of Bengal’s Health Department told The Hindu .
According to mental health activists like Ms Ray this is first such initiative tried anywhere in the country and it comes as good news from the mental health instruction of Bengal after many years.
In the past, the mental hospitals of Bengal particularly the Pavlov Hospital were in the news for unnatural deaths and human rights violations.
The death of 84 inmates in the mental health facility of Bengal in 2013 over the past three years had resulted in strong criticism by activists.