BHUBANESWAR: The State Government on Friday maintained that Dana Majhi, who carried his wife's body on his shoulders for 10 km from Bhawanipatna district headquarters hospital, did not seek any help from the hospital staff before leaving.
"Dana Majhi never sought any help or ambulance to carry the body from any of the hospital staff on the night of August 23," Health Minister Atanu Sabyasachi Nayak said in a written reply to question from Prafulla Majhi (Congress) in the Assembly.
Transportation arrangement is made in case of poor patients, if approached, from the Chief Minister's relief fund or by Rogi Kalyan Samiti or Red Cross Fund, the Minister said and added that in case of Dana Majhi, neither he nor anybody had sought any help or assistance from the hospital staff.
The Minister said since the staff nurse (contractual) on duty Rajendra Rana did not inform the emergency officer on duty or the ward-in-charge doctor, he has been disengaged. Similarly, the security agency has been terminated for neither informing the above incident nor guarding the premises properly, he said.
Dana Majhi, from Melghar village located 60 km from Kalahandi district headquarters town of Bhawanipatna, had hogged international headlines after the incident.
The Minister said the hospital authorities came to know about the incident next day at 9 am (on August 24) when the doctor came on ward visit. "The patient was given adequate medical treatment and there was no negligence in treatment," Nayak said quoting the CDMO's report.
Meanwhile, Union Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has come down heavily on the State Government for such a reply on the incident. The Health Minister has absolved the Government of any responsibility for the incident by placing the CDMO's report, Pradhan said.
What kind of a responsible Government is this? Pradhan asked and criticised the State Government for making the staff nurse and security agency scapegoats to shift responsibility.