Gujarat HC pulls up Rupani govt, says conditions at Civil Hospital in Ahmedabad ‘as good as dungeon’
AHMEDABAD: The Gujarat high court criticised the state government, saying the conditions at the Civil Hospital in Ahmedabad are “pathetic” and it is “as good as a dungeon, may be even worse”.
The court’s made the observation on Friday, it was made available on Saturday. The court had taken suo motu cognizance of a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) on the Covid-19 pandemic. Ahmedabad’s Civil Hospital recorded 377 Covid19 deaths until Friday.
The division bench of Justices JB Pardiwala and IJ Vora came down hard on the Vijay Rupani government on conditions prevailing at the hospital, and said it was “distressing and painful”.
“It is very distressing and painful to note that the condition prevailing, as on date, in the Civil Hospital, is pathetic... We are very sorry to state that the Civil Hospital Ahmedabad, as on date, appears to be in extremely bad shape,” the court observed.
“As we said earlier that the Civil Hospital is meant to treat the patients. However, it appears that as on date, it is as good as a dungeon. May be even worse than a dungeon. Unfortunately, the poor and helpless patients have no option,” it said.
The court also questioned the state government’s decision to not allow private laboratories to conduct COVID-19 tests, saying whether this is meant to “artificially control” the data of number of coronavirus cases in the state.
It has directed the state to procure maximum testing kits to enable both private and government hospitals to carry out coronavirus tests at government rates. It also directed the government to dispel panic among the public by way of publicity, and ensure home isolation is adhered to.
The court said any laboratory that fulfils the criteria related to infrastructure and can get registered with the National Accreditation Board for Laboratories (NABL) should be permitted to conduct these tests.
The rates for testing by private laboratories must have a ceiling cap, which in the present case is Rs 4,500, the high court said. Meanwhile, Congress on Sunday said the Gujarat government’s “inefficiency” in handling the coronavirus crisis has rendered it “undermining, underconfident and underachieving”, as the number of COVID-19 cases in the state rose rapidly.
“In Gujarat, today we don't have a health care system, we have a sick system,” Congress spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi said. He quoted the court judgement to target the BJPruled Gujarat which is also the home state of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah, and said such words have never been used by the judiciary against the state authorities.
At a press conference through video conferencing, Singhvi also sought to know why the prime minister or the home minister did not intervene, chastise or punish the Gujarat government. “We would respectfully ask the prime minister, home minister, the Government of India, chief minister of Gujarat and the government of Gujarat - Are they even aware of what is happening in their own home state?
“If so, have they ever intervened, chastised or punished the Gujarat government or does the latter have Covid immunity vaccine because they belong to the BJP?” he posed.
Singhvi also asked why the Gujarat Governor did not use similar standards like those adopted by the West Bengal governor against the state government and whether similar inspection teams were sent to Gujarat by the Centre, as has been done for West Bengal.
“Why has the Gujarat Governor not adopted the same intrusive standards for the Gujarat Government as his West Bengal counterpart did?” he asked. Singhvi said if powerful people, including leaders and “controllers of the central government”, themselves are “unable to provide medical justice” to the poor and the needy of their home area, “what Covid justice can the rest of India's teeming millions expect from them”. “Sadly, we and the nation seek answers about which we are confident and pessimistically sure we will never get,” he said.
The Congress leader alleged that the High Court of Gujarat has used “some of the severest, most scathing and harshest strictures” against the state government, alleging that references have been made to “sinking of the Titanic”, the “extremely bad shape” of the hospital and the state government's “bizarre intent to artificially control the data of the number of cases”.
“The inefficiency of the Gujarat government in handling the COVID-19 crisis depicts that it is undermining, underconfident, and underachieving,” Singhvi said.
“Is it not true that by such methods of suppressed testing, transparency the true nature of the problem is critically compromised, distorted and misrepresented for purposes of personal image?” he asked.
Singhvi also alleged that the Gujarat government was making profits out of N-95 masks. “Why is the Government of Gujarat, close on the heels of the ‘non-existent ventilator scam', selling N-95 masks admittedly at Rs 65 per mask as against the admitted procurement cost to it of Rs 49.61 per mask i.e. at a straight profit arbitrage of 31 per cent?”
The Congress spokesperson also sought to know why the Gujarat government “is on one hand profiteering from an essential item like N-95 mask, and is levying steep penalty on those who do not wear masks in public”.