Madhya Pradesh appoints more doctors for Bhopal Gas Tragedy victims
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In response to a report exposing severe staffing shortages in hospitals dedicated to survivors of the 1984 Bhopal Gas Tragedy, the Madhya Pradesh Health Services Directorate has approved the appointment of 12 doctors.
This decision follows previous delays, where some appointments were informally canceled after initial approval.
The NDTV report from July 29 revealed that only 749 out of 1,247 positions in gas relief hospitals were filled, leaving many victims without proper medical care. Earlier, on May 16, the Bhopal Gas Tragedy Relief and Rehabilitation Department had advertised for 46 specialist and 69 medical officer positions.
However, by June 27, the Health Services Directorate had sanctioned only 15 postings, including five specialists, some of which were later inexplicably canceled.
Last year, the Madhya Pradesh High Court threatened contempt proceedings against top officials for not addressing these vacancies. During a hearing on July 30, 2023, the court demanded a status report from the Gas Relief Department, to be submitted by Wednesday.
The new appointments were made on Tuesday, and the Health Services Directorate reported this to the high court bench, comprising Acting Chief Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva and Justice Vinay Saraf, on Wednesday. Senior lawyer Anshuman Singh also presented a monitoring committee’s report from May 2024, highlighting the lack of timely cancer treatment for gas victims due to administrative inaction.
The court has mandated that treatment for gas victims must proceed without delay, instructing both state and central governments to respond promptly.
Rachna Dhingra, a social worker and advocate for the gas victims, hailed the appointments as a significant victory. "The gas victims will now be able to get surgeries done which had been pending for years because of a lack of surgeons and anesthesiologists at gas relief hospitals," she stated.