Amid Bhubaneswar cold wave, AIIMS patients and their attendants’ plight goes unheard

At a time when Bhubaneswar is left shivering due to a severe cold wave, the sight of patients and their attendants waiting outside hospitals in the capital city, braving the chill of the night, is a lesser-known but distressing plight.

Ground reports featured visuals of several people from Odisha as well as the neighbouring states wrapping themselves up in thin shawls and blankets and sleeping on the footpath while waiting outside the gates of AIIMS (All India Institute of Medical Sciences), Bhubaneswar.

The scenes become highly painful when the cold wave is considered. Bhubaneswar recorded a minimum temperature below 15 degrees Celsius consecutively for the past few days. Regardless, people are forced to brave the chill in order to queue for entry to the premier hospital.

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“We have to queue in order to enter the hospital at the earliest when the gates open at 6 or 7 am,” said a man from Bolangir waiting by the AIIMS gate to enter the hospital premises at about 1 am in the night under intense cold.

Incidentally, owing to the rush at the hospital, not everyone is able to secure a bed or treatment as soon as possible and often has to wait long hours. Hence, many start maintaining their positions in a queue from midnight to get admission tickets.

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However, with the entire state of Odisha reeling under an intense cold wave and with several districts recording seasonal lows of about 4 degrees Celsius and frost, such scenes come across as heart-wrenching.

“I am here for the treatment of my toddler son but the weather is extremely cold here,” lamented a man from West Bengal sitting by the pavement.