After failing to get any financial support from the Ranchi Municipal Corporation (RMC), members of the Child Welfare Committee (CWC) — a judicial body constituted under the Juvenile Justice Act — are running pillar to post to pay the hospital bill for treatment of a one-year-old child who fell in an open drain and sustained critical injuries, CWC members said on Friday.
The CWC addressed a letter to the Ranchi Municipal Commissioner Manoj Kumar on December 6 seeking monetary assistance for treatment of the child. However, the CWC claims that RMC officials did not even bother to respond to the letter. CWC member, Tanushree Sarkar said that the committee expected some assistance from the RMC on humanitarian grounds as the incident occurred due to an uncovered drain, and it was RMC’s responsibility to keep such accidents at bay. The Pioneer has a copy of the letter.
“It is not CWC’s responsibility to bear the expenses of the child’s treatment. But we are still trying our level best. On our request, Rani Children Hospital agreed to provide the best possible treatment to the child. The hospital authorities also agreed to discharge him on our assurance that the hospital bill will be paid,” said Sarkar. The CWC has to now seek donations in order to pay the hospital bill of Rs.81,770 as there are no funds in the committee’s treasury, she added. On Friday, Malayalee Association, a Ranchi-based civil society organization donated a sum of Rs.41,000 to the CWC for clearing the hospital bill.
The child, Akhil Oraon, fell in an open drain in Lalpur on December 4, while his mother was washing clothes at a nearby hand pump. The incident hogged media attention as the child had a narrow escape from the clutches of death. “The incident could have proved fatal. The child might have succumbed to his injuries if we did not ensure quality medical assistance at that time,” said Sarkar.
Akhil’s accident was the third reported in a year in Ranchi. Earlier in 2019, four-year-old Falak died after falling in an open drain and getting washed away. On August 22, seven-year-old Pappu fell in an open drain. However, locals came to his rescue and fished out the boy from the filth and stench of the drain.
Municipal Commissioner Manoj Kumar could not be reached over phone on Friday. Ranchi Deputy Mayor Sanjiv Vijaywargiya said that the RMC could not disburse any financial assistance as the Model Code of Conduct was enforced in Jharkhand when the incident occurred. “I am unaware of any letter sent by the CWC. I will have to check with the RMC officials. The Commissioner is on leave. Let him return, I will have a word with him,” Vijaywargiya said.
Deputy Municipal Commissioner Shankar Yadav admitted that the RMC had received a letter from the CWC regarding the same. However, he said that there were no provisions of bearing hospital expenses of such accident survivors under the Act. “There is no provision under the Act. However, helping on humanitarian grounds is a subjective choice. It may vary from person to person,” he said.