A woman, who delivered a baby at community health center (CHC) in Dhanbad was charged Rs.1500 by the Nurses to allow her to see her baby.

This upsetting incident happened at a Community Health Center (CHC) in Dhanbad, Govindpur block. The woman is a 30-year-old Sumati Devi. She delivered a baby at Dhanbad CHC. She wished to see her baby, but the nurses and auxiliary staff at the CHC demanded Rs.1500 as bakshish to allow her to see her baby.

On Thursday, Sumati Devi along with her husband Balram Rajwar went to the CHC around 4 pm and was admitted. She delivered a healthy baby within an hour, but she was not permitted to see her baby till late at night. The nurses charged Rs.1500 as bakshish. Sumati's husband repeatedly asked the nurses to hand over the baby to Sumati but no results.

Sumati’s husband is a daily wager. He borrowed money from a friend and paid the nurses. He also submitted a written complaint to Dr. B Kumar, medical officer in charge of the CHC exhorting prompt action against the staff, who were involved in the incident. Responding to the complaint Dr. Kumar said that he would probe the issue personally.

In 2016, a shocking incident happened in Churu’s Government Maternal and Child Care Hospital, where an auxiliary midwife placed a newborn girl near a heater blower and demanded Rs.300 as badhai money. The health department has formed a four-member committee to look into the issue.

(Input from various sources)

(Rehash/Lavanya Beeraboina)