When many of the private hospitals are under scanner vis-à-vis implementation of safety norms, a glaring instance has come to the fore where the Advanced Medicare and Research Institute ltd (AMRI) Hospitals has been running alleged without adopting the required pollution norms for long.
A directive issued to the hospital by the Odisha State Pollution Control Board (OSPCB) on September 13, 2017 has brought the alleged illegality to limelight. The directive mentioned that the OSPCB has not accepted the hospital’s application seeking operational permission due to violation of pollution norms. The board has directed the hospital to take corrective measures within 21 days and inform the same to the board.
A survey conducted by the OSPCB in July 2017 revealed that contaminated water produced from the softener and carbon filter was being directly released to the municipality drain without treatment.
Earlier also, a survey had been conducted on January 21, 2017. It was then revealed that the AMRI Hospitals was releasing a major part of its polluted water to the nearby Ghagudi canal.
Hence, the above two surveys have all indicated that the AMRI Hospitals has been polluting its nearby areas without caring for health hazards being created by it for residents in the vicinity. It can’t be ruled out that people and animals living in nearby areas might get infected with various diseases, including fatal ones.
It may be noted here that as many as 89 persons had been burnt to death in the AMRI Hospitals, Kolkata due to a major fire in 2011. An investigation revealed that the fire mishap occurred as the hospital had violated various Government guidelines and restrictions. Six management people of the hospital had been arrested for violation of guidelines.
Similarly, 24 persons had been killed in a fire mishap occurred in the SUM Hospital here on October 17, 2016. In this case, it was too revealed no safety norms were followed.
While on one hand these expensive hospitals are earning a lot of profit by providing health services to rich people, on the other hand they are distributing diseases among poor people by polluting environment, alleged some intellectuals.
On the other hand, AMRI Hospital PRO Anshuman Patnaik has stated that the hospital has not violated any pollution norm. The OSPCB had visited the hospital to conduct a survey in the wake of the hospital’s proposal to raise the bed capacity from 312 to 400.