HYDERABAD: In a complete violation of human rights, an ailing man had to use his eight year old son's toy bike to reach the ward for treatment, when ward boys of the state-run Gandhi general hospital in Hyderabad, denied him a wheelchair. The incident came to light when a video footage of the same went viral on the internet.
Sarikonda Raju, 45, a painting worker, had suffered an electric shock on August 22, when he came in contact with a hanging live wire and suffered burn injuries in his head, left hand, and partly paralysed two legs. He has been undergoing plastic surgery treatment at the hospital, and is required to visit the doctor every week for treatment. "Every time I come, the boys demand Rs 50 to Rs 100 to take me to the ward from the block entrance. Many times I managed to pay them. But, it has become a huge burden on me. If if am capable of paying them, I would have gone to a private hospital," Raju said.
His ward is on the first floor of the nine-storeyed building. He said he took his son Pavan Kumar's cycle to use on the hospital premises. Despite his partial disability, he still works whenever he gets calls from his old customers. His wife Santoshi is the breadwinner of the family consisting of four children. Hospital resident medical officer R Seshadri responded to the news saying, "This is a very disturbing incident that can bring disrepute to us. We have ordered an inquiry and based on the findings, action will be taken against the ward boy responsible for it."
Hospital Superintendent BSV Manjula said, "We did not receive any formal complaint from the victim before or after the incident. We have taken it up suo motu and constituted a three-member inquiry committee. We are expecting report soon. We will take action based on the report."
