OTV Impact: Govt constructs shelters for patients, attendants at AHRCC

After non-stop coverage on the plight of hundreds of cancer patients lying open in front of Acharya Harihar Institute of Cancer (AHRCC) in Cuttack on Odisha's leading news channel OTV, the State Health department has started construction of shelters for the patients at the premier healthcare centre in Cuttack on war footing.

The department is constructing three shelters at the AHRCC at the moment, out of which one became operational on Monday, the second one will be available for patients from Tuesday (tomorrow) and the last one will be opened by this weekend, informed the authorities.

All the shelters will be equipped with lights, fans and drinking water facilities and each shelter has a capacity of 50 persons under it.

The Odisha Health minister Naba Das on Saturday had said that he has taken cognizance of the plights the patients are forced to undergo at the AHRCC and immediate steps will be taken in this regard.

AHRCC, the biggest cancer hospital in Odisha, is apparently grappling to accommodate patients and their attendants even in this scorching heat. OTV had earlier visited AHRCC and showed how hundreds of cancer patients and their relatives are being left in open at the mercy of God.

When asked around, OTV came to know that almost all of the patients lying outside, hail from poor background. While they can’t afford the rent of lodges or inns, the hospital also doesn’t have any facility to provide them a shelter.

At a time when the government is claiming that it is spending crores of money to provide people with better health facilities, the scenes at AHRCC showed a different tale altogether