RAJASTHAN : The 23-year-old Rukmani Prajapat still recalls the trauma she went through last summer when she suffered a fracture in talus bone. Fixing it needed a complex surgery that would cost nearly a lakh of rupees. For a few days, Prajapat and her poor farming family battled a medical crisis, as they had no money to travel to Jaipur 200 kilometres away and pay for the surgery.
A relative told the Prajapat family that a C-arm machine had recently been installed at Seth Surajmal Jalan Government District Hospital in Ratangarh, where the complex surgery could be performed free of cost. Soon, doctors at the hospital performed the surgery through small incisions and Prajapat’s bone was fixed using screws. Without the operation, Prajapat would have been left with a permanent limp. She said, “Traveling to Jaipur for the costly surgery was impossible for my poor family. I was operated for free in Ratangarh itself.”
This feat at a government hospital was made possible by a unique initiative launched by a Gandhian institute in Rajasthan’s Ratangarh town. While most government hospitals in the state lack adequate facilities, the Ratangarh government hospital has emerged as an exception. The Shri Gandhi Bal Niketan Society, led by its secretary Rajiv Upadhyay, has inspired Rajasthanis settled across India to contribute towards making the Ratangarh government a fully-equipped medical facility.
In recent years, this Gandhian institute has attracted a range of “bhamashahs”, or philanthropists, for its Medical Equipment Project, which was initiated in 2024. Instead of creating a parallel medical infrastructure, this collaboration is working to strengthen the existing government set-up. This arrangement complements the specialist doctors available at the hospital, who were earlier constrained by the lack of modern medical infrastructure.
The Medical Equipment Project began with financial support from generous philanthropists Arun Ajitsariya and Harsh Ajitsariya through their family organisation Kishandayal Rameshwar Charity Trust. Under this novel project, machinery worth `1.25 crore has been installed at the district hospital.
In the first phase of the project, a C-arm machine costing over `30 lakh and other essential resources related to the orthopaedics department were installed. In the second phase, the project provided financial support of `80 lakh for the state-of-the-art machinery related to the general surgery department. Under the third phase of the project, the x-ray wing of the hospital was upgraded by installing a digital radiography system worth `15 lakhs with financial support from Anoj Ajeetsaria. With this facility, 3,000 x-rays are taken out every month, ensuring poor patients are not compelled to travel to bigger towns for accessing basic diagnostics.
Significantly, it is not just patients, but also doctors, who are delighted at receiving the modern equipments. Dr Sukhvir Khichar, an orthopedic surgeon at the Ratangarh government hospital, said, “Earlier, I often got worried looking at the surging patient count and an increasing number of referrals at the hospital, as the machines were not adequate and advanced enough.
But, in the last two years, since we received the C-arm machine, orthopedic surgeries have become less difficult. This machine provides us real-time, laser-guided x-rays and allows us to perform complex surgeries, which we could not even do earlier.” He added that the hospital has performed over 120 orthopedic surgeries since the machine was installed.
Similarly, on receiving the laparoscopic machine, general surgeries can now be performed at the hospital with minimal efforts. Dr S S Kaswan, a general surgeon at the hospital, remarks, “The machines the hospital received under the project are manufactured by the world’s top companies.
These advanced leproscopic and laser machines help perform surgeries with minimal incision, leading to early recovery and healing. The anesthesia work station the hospital received is proving to be a life savior. Now, we are assured of uninterrupted oxygen supply even for surgeries that last long. It was tedious to perform such surgeries earlier due to manual oxygen supply. Also, the sterilisation machine eliminates the chances of infection during surgeries.”
The general surgeon says that such advanced equipment is not available even in some medical colleges of Rajasthan. He said, “The benefits of the Medical Equipment Project will be reaped by the coming generations too.”
Despite getting deep appreciation from patients and doctors, Rajiv Upadhyay, the brain behind the project, has no plans of resting on his laurels. In the next phase of the project, he has planned an estimated investment of Rs 1 crore for developing and upgrading the operation theatres of various departments. He also plans to upgrade the machinery at the hospital’s blood bank.
He said, “The best-in-class machinery needed by specialist doctors, who are working with dedication, is now available at the government hospital through the generous support of philanthropists. These high quality medical facilities will provide great relief to people in our area. We will continue our efforts to make equipment related to other medical departments available as soon as possible.”
The philanthropists who donated for the project are not just giving money, they are giving dignity to the poor.
Most philanthropists attached with this endeavour are thrilled that their hard-earned money is being utilised to resolve the healthcare crisis at the grassroots level in their ancestral areas. Arun Ajitsaria, a key philanthropist for the project, asserts, “We consider it a great opportunity to work for our ancestral place. By making available the best medical equipment for the treatment of poor people in a government hospital in our native land,we feel that we are living up to the blessings and good deeds of our ancestors.”
The desert state is known for its non-residents who are spread across the country and the globe. This model of philanthropy depicts a special public-private partnership that can potentially transform the health sector in villages and towns. The Ratangarh project provides the Rajasthan government and the country with a unique model to improve the quality of care in remote, rural areas.