At a time when the soaring temperature is throwing normal life out of gear across the State, the patients and their attendants at the Maternity and Child Health (MCH) centre of the Jajpur district headquarters hospital (DHH) are facing a tough time as most of the fans are lying defunct.
For the last couple of days, people visiting the MCH center are seen coming with new fans and bamboo-made handcrafted fans.
When investigated, it was known that most of the fans on all five floors of the facility have been removed for repair.
The firm that has been awarded the contract of repair removed the fans in February. Now it is mid-April and the temperature is hovering around 40 degrees Celsius. But the firm is yet to install the fans, leaving the patients and their relatives to fend for themselves. The babies and children are said to be the worst affected ones.
The situation has come to such a pass that after coming to know about the situation at the facility some people are seen opting for private clinics. And it is also seen that people are shifting their patients from the MCH center to other private clinics.
If this is the situation at the DHH, it is well understood what could be the situation at the hospitals in remote areas, some visitors rued.
When contacted, the chief district medical officer (CDMO) said the contractual firm has been directed to make all the defunct fans functional in a week.