A campaign has been launched by residents of Kesare in Narasimharaja Assembly constituency in Mysuru to reopen the Bibi Ayesha Hospital. which was closed in February this year owing to a dispute between the hospital management and the Wakf Board.
The 75-bed hospital, which had served as a comprehensive Covid Care Centre during the first wave of the pandemic las year, has remained closed for about two months now, but the infrastructure including beds and other equipment has remained intact.
MCC corporator Samiulla, who led a demonstration in front of the hospital situated on the Mysuru-Bengaluru highway, told a meeting convened by Minister in charge of Mysuru district S.T. Somashekar on Thursday that the authorities should reopen the hospital if the number of COVID-19 deaths among the people of the adjoining localities is to be reduced.
The number of patients facing breathlessness and requiring immediate hospitalisation is increasing with each passing day while the chances of securing beds in existing hospitals are becoming even more remote.
“The hospital had helped save several lives in the first wave of pandemic last year”, he said while making an appeal to Narasimharaja Assembly constituency MLA Tanveer Sait, who was also present in the meeting, to facilitate the reopening of the hospital.
Mr. Samiulla said the authorities, who are being stretched to start new Covid Care Centres, need not make much efforts at Bibi Ayesha Hospital. “There are beds, oxygen system, ventilators, ambulance etc. We can use the ready infrastructure”, he said.
Mr. Samiulla’s brother Azeezulla, who was participated in the demonstration, said all efforts will be made to convince president of Bibi Ayesha Milli Hospital Iqbal Ahmed to restart operations. Hidayathulla Sharief, the custodian of the Wakf property, who had a dispute with the hospital management, also participated in the demonstration and said he had written to the Wakf Board to allow the hospital to resume operations.
The demonstration, however, was called off after the police reached the venue and asked them to disperse as gathering of a crowd for a protest violated COVID-19 regulations.
Meanwhile, Zaheer Ul Haq, who handles the Quba Helpline, said it was a cruel irony for the residents of the area that the healthcare facilities for them had shrunk at a time when they needed them the most. He said the number of COVID-19 patients requiring medical attention had increased several folds in the ensuing second wave, but the healthcare facilities had decreased, particularly in Narasimharaja segment, which is populated by poor sections of the society.
During the first wave of COVID-19 last year, Mr. Zaheer Ul Haq recalled that the government authorities had set up two facilities at Farooqia College on Mahadevapura Main Road and Andalus English School in Udayagiri, each of which had a capacity to handle about 35 to 40 sick persons, besides the Bibi Ayesha Milli Hospital in Bannimantap.
Though Mr. Somashekar had recently opened a Covid Care Centre at Beedi Workers Hospital, the facility has only 16 oxygenated beds. Government officials said efforts are underway to increase its capacity to a 150-bed facility with at least 50 oxygenated beds.
