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Filthy conditions continue to mar Yerawada Mental Hospital
Over the past five days, waste has piled up in wards, bathrooms remain unclean, and the foul odour has become unbearable, causing distress to both patients and hospital staff
The Regional Mental Hospital (RMH) in Yerawada is reeling under severe unhygienic conditions as sanitation workers failed to report to duty on December 1, leaving the facility in a dismal state.
Over the past five days, waste has piled up in wards, bathrooms remain unclean, and the foul odour has become unbearable, causing distress to both patients and hospital staff.
The public health department issued the notice on December 1 to the 15 sanitary workers from Aundh District Hospital (ADH) who were expected to join duty at RMH on the same day. The notice stated that failure to comply with the orders would lead to suspension.
The said staff on Monday resumed their duty and have started working. The issue will be resolved in a couple of days and the cleaning work is in progress, officials said.
Dr Shrinivas Kolod, assistant civil surgeon of Pune district, said, “The sanitary staff were supposed to report their duty at the mental hospital on Sunday. However, they resumed their duty on Monday after the notice was issued.”
“The hospital has no role in the number of contractual staff reporting on duty at the hospital for cleaning. The contractor is paid per square foot for the cleaning work. However, the hygiene and cleanliness were compromised during this period,” added, Kolod.
According to the officials, the situation at the mental hospital deteriorated in the past week after a large number of contractual cleaning staff at the hospital started to remain absent from duty. Later the staff also threatened and then went on strike, demanding better pay and working conditions.
To address the crisis, the deputy director of health services issued an order on November 29 and the District Civil Surgeon issued another order on November 30 to deploy 15 sanitary workers from ADH. However, despite clear instructions and orders the staff failed to report on Sunday and a show-cause notice with a warning of suspension was issued in the evening.
Dr Radhakishan Pawar, deputy director of health services, Pune region, said, the cleaning work is in progress and the situation will be back to normal in a couple of days.
“The sanitary staff from ADH has joined the office and started their work. The issue has been there for a few days,” he said.
Jitendra Tusamad, president of the sanitary staff association, said, “We request that the department should not give such sudden temporary postings. A permanent voluntary posting should be given to the staff and the sanitary staff will be happy to join.”
