Men in khaki spell terror

The Khaki of the CRPF personnel, camping on the premises of the newly set up Bihar State Mental Health and Allied Science Institute at Koelwar, Ara, is putting off the mentally ill patients.

Fearful of all that the uniform may entail, the patients, especially those suffering from schizophrenia, show reluctance to come for treatment to the hospital. “The presence of the khaki on the campus has proved to be one of the major factors responsible for the abysmally low turnout of patients at the OPD," said director of the institute Dr Ashok Kumar Prasad Singh.

The institute was commissioned on the premises of the defunct TB sanatorium five months ago as, after the partition of the state, the Ranchi Institute of Neuro Psychiatry and Allied Sciences stayed with Jharkhand.

However, even after so many months, a major portion of the institute is still housing a base camp of the Central Reserve Police Force. “From the security point of view, the presence of the CRPF is of great help, but it definitely has a negative impact on the mentally sick patients, whose illness is of very delicate and sensitive nature," said Singh.

He said that although the actual camp of the CRPF was at a fair distance from the OPD, the mere sight of the personnel in uniform proved disturbing for the patients. Also, because of the continued presence of the force, indoor wards of the hospital (150-bed project) could not be started till now, he added.

The director said other factors responsible for the slow growth of the hospital were non-availability of drugs, ill- trained nursing staff, absence of well-equipped lab and a strong backup of doctors from different fields.

Email Binod Dubey: b_dubey@yahoo.com