The strike by the sanitary workers of the Doon Hospital has taken a severe toll on the condition of the hospital. In protest against the alleged corruption by their supervisors, the sanitation workers of Doon Hospital are on strike from Monday. The strike by these workers has made life difficult for the inpatients and OPD patients. The garbage bins of the hospital are full to the brim and hospital wards are littered with garbage and deadly hospital waste. One of the attendant of an in house patient said that the hospital toilets are soiled and are emanating unbearable stench. The president of Uttarakhand Swasthya Safai Karamchari Union Mohan Kumar told The Pioneer that the supervisors Som Nath, Krishna Prasad, Rajesh and Raju regularly misbehave with the sanitation workers. He alleged that the supervisors seek money from the workers to engage them in the sanitation works. Kumar said the workers in past have complained about the behaviour and corruption of supervisors but nothing has happened. The sanitation workers want that five members from among them should be made new supervisors.
When contacted by The Pioneer the Principal Medical Superintendent (PMS) of Doon Hospital Dr RS Aswal accepted that the sanitation condition of the hospital is severely affected by the strike. He said that these workers had gone on strike on September 1 and the hospital administration has accepted the demands like providing leaves and free treatment. Dr Aswal said that he has asked the service provider Uttarakhand Purva Sainik Kalyan Nigam limited (UPNl) to either get these workers back on work or make alternative arrangements. He said that hospital would cancel the contract with UPNl and would blacklist it if the sanitation workers continue their agitation. The PMS categorically said that the hospital would give sanitation contract to new contractor if UPNl fails in discharging its duties.