Pune: Delay in hospital opening makes residents of Shirur travel far for healthcare
Image for representation purposes
Due to a serious staff shortage, a 30-bed rural hospital in Pabal, Shirur tehsil, which was planned to serve around 30,000 people from 20 villages, has not yet began operating three years after its construction. Instead, modern laboratories and medical equipment valued around Rs2 crore are collecting dust.
Despite the fact that the structure was used as a Covid care center during the height of the pandemic, it never served its intended function. Affected people reported that officials have promised action for the past two years without result. For medical care, they are currently need to travel 15 to 20 kilometers to a rural hospital in Shikrapur city.
The civil surgeon for the district, told reporters: “In the next two weeks, we anticipate the state’s approval for the recruitment of personnel at Pabal RH. The facility will employ a medical director, three medical officers, nurses, pharmacists, and other personnel. We have already begun the hospital cleaning process.”
Pabal is one of the group gram panchayats in Shirur, with a sizeable industrial workforce in the Ranjangaon and Sanaswadi MIDC regions. It is also the major marketplace for ten neighboring villages. District health officials said that the government had approved the hospital for the village in light of these considerations.
“Due to last year’s paper leak, the state health administration was unable to conclude the recruiting procedure for Class III employees, preventing the hospital from commencing operations. Now, we have chosen to employ workers on a contractual basis “According to a top district health officer.
A Pabal-based lawyer and activist who has been following this matter for months, stated, “How can government build a facility then refuse to open it to the public? Numerous poor individuals and villagers lack access to health care. This month, we filed a memo to the office of the prime minister.”
The delay has prompted some villages and campaigners to decide to protest. “We have decided to hold a demonstration at the rural hospital in Shikrapur on January 28 to stress our demand,” said the villagers.
