Misappropriation of users’ fee in Capital Hospital

BHUBANESWAR: Capital Hospital, one of the oldest hospitals of the city, which is providing health service to the residents of the city and its nearby areas from 1954, has been remained in the focal point of discussion due to various reasons. Now the hospital is in the point of discussion for misusing of users’ fee collected from the patients. Audit report clearly stated that the hospital has failed to follow the guidelines during any cash transaction and maintaining of its records and cash books properly.

According to the RTI information, the hospital has collected Rs 9, 91, 07,285 as users’ fee from 1997 to October 2012 and Rs 88, 25, 942 has sanctioned from the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) fund from 2010. Out of the total Rs 10, 79, 33,227, the hospital has spent Rs 8, 18, 92,715 and the rest of the money is in the hospital’s account. The money was not being used for the poor patients, but in the ambulance services for VIPs and other means. In 2004-06, the ambulances were used in the duty of VIPs and for which reason Rs 36, 462 have been paid from the users’ fee which is illegal.    

The audit report said the cashbook used for collection of user charges of the hospital has not been maintained properly, cuttings and over writings has been made in all most all cases. Physical verification of cash balance at the end of each month as well as at the end of the year has not been conducted by the authority in-charge or by the head of the institution at all, said the report and added that surprise verification of cash balance at the end of a days collection or month or even at the end of the year has not been taken as per the provision.

The audit report pointed out about the irregular and excess payment of money from the users’ fee. The hospital authorities had submitted Xerox copies of different bills instead of showing the original during the audit which spontaneously raises question over the use of money by the hospital authorities.

The audit report questioned over the irregular payment of Rs 1, 64,409 towards security services engagement in the hospital and misappropriation of users’ money to the tune of 94, 149 during 2002. The amount collected as users’ fees are kept in hand by the cashier for days together without depositing it in the passbook, the report added. The audit report of 2001-02 revealed that irregularities to the tune of Rs 15, 30, 385, while the 2005-06 audit report had detected the irregularities to the extent of Rs 16, 46, 620.

At the time of physical verification of cash on May 31, 2005, it revealed that a sum of Rs 1, 12, 63,486 is lying in the closing balance of cash book where as an amount of Rs 1,11,40,835 was kept in the bank account. As a result of which Rs 1, 22,649 differ between cash book figure and bank passbook figure, the report revealed.

The 2010 audit report has exposed the discrepancy between cashbook and Bank Passbook. As per the cashbook, the bank balance as on March 31, 2008 was Rs 1, 64, 25,133, but as per the passbook the balance was Rs 68, 23,204. It shows the seriousness of the hospital authorities in managing the users’ fee fund.

Apart from that the hospital authorities has violated the guidelines by paying excess money to a particular organisation without going trough tender process. They have also paid excess money to some organisations without following any circular or direction notice, the report added.       

According to the Bhubaneswar Bikash Manch general secretary Ganesh Das, the Chief Medical Officers and other administrative officers of the hospital are involved in the multi-crore users’ fee scam. The hospital authorities recently denied a freedom fighter for medication, misbehaved Pipili girl Bebina and a filaria patient without paying attention of their health condition, but how they misused the users’ money to appease VIPs and some organisations dealing with the hospital, questioned Das.

Das also said the Health Department is not doing anything to bring the truth before the public or failed to punish the real culprits who were involved in the multi-crore scam. “If BJD Government is very transparent, why it is delaying to order a high-level probe,” he said.

On the other hand, Capital Hospital CMO Sudarshan Das said they are looking into the matter deeply and the truth would come out very soon. “I joined the hospital as CMO only a few months ago, anyway we will look into the matter,” Das said.

Tension over Engg student’s death in city

BHUBANESWAR: Family members of an engineering student, who was allegedly drowned in a pond while taking bath at Brahmapur, questioned over the death of their son while receiving the body here on Tuesday night. They kept the college employees and the friends of the deceased against their will near their house at Niladri Vihar during receiving the body.   

The deceased was identified as Pradip Sahu, son of Dasarath Sahu of Niladri Vihar in the city. Pradip was the first year student and continuing his study at NIIST engineering college in Brahmapur. On the day of the incident, he went to a nearby pond to take bath where he unfortunately drowned and died. Employees of the college and some college student brought the body of Pradip to his Niladri Vihar house on Tuesday.

The family members questioned over the death of their son and didn’t leave the students and college employees till the local corporator and police are interfered. Father of the deceased Sahu said that the college was responsible for the death of his son.      

10,000 people see naval warships at Paradip

PARADIP: Around ten thousand people from Paradip and its nearby areas visited the Indian naval warships INS Khukri and INS Khanjar that was arrived at Paradip port for public view for two days on Tuesday and Wednesday. During these days, the people were allowed to visit inside the warship Khukri. The Indian Navy was arranged free bus services from PPT Administrative building to warship berth. The warship INS Khanjar was not allowed for public visit.

The captain of warship Khukri commandant Rahul Billash Gokhel told Mediapersons here that on the occasion of Indian Navy week celebration on December 4, the Indian Navy sends its warships to major ports of the country to give the public an opportunity to interact with the naval officers and to give message that Indian Navy always be ready for the service of the nation.

It may be noted that INS Khukri was sunk during 1971 war with Pakistan. All 176 crew member including Captain MN Mulla were died. It was commissioned at Mumbai on August 23, 1989 by the then Defence Minister KC Pant. The warship was the first ship of the Khukri Class Missile Corvettes.  

The ship is among the frontline ships of the Eastern Fleet. Being entirely indigenous in concept, design and construction, Khukri demonstrates India’s technological advancements in the field of electronics, sensors and ship would spearhead Indian Navy’s offensives towards fulfilling the country’s military objectives.

The ship’s formidable arsenal includes four Surface to Surface Missiles. All this metallic and electronic bravado is kept in trim by the ‘Khukri Team’ of 10 officers and 110 sailors. Commandant Manish Dhakray was also present and gave national integration and security massage to the Indian youth.

BJP writes President of India over withdrawal of FDI in retail

BHUBANESWAR: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Wednesday urged the President of India to withdraw the Union Government’s decision to allow 51 per cent FDI in multi-brand retail sector. The wrong decision would create disaster in the country’s economy in the future, said the party in their letter to the President through Governor of Odisha.

The party said the dominance of foreign investors in retail sector would create a serious trade imbalance, artificial scarcity of commodities as well as unusual competition in retail business sector. Due to the FDI in retail, the unorganised producers including farmers, MSME sectors and even the other non MNC brands would not be able to withstand the competition because of the monopolisation of the foreign investors, the party said in the letter adding, “As we don’t have any legislations to protect the business and economic interests of the unorganised producers, they will perish gradually.”

The party also said the FDI would affect the small and midsized retail sectors which are giving bread and butter to an approximate number of more than a crore of Indian citizens and they would be forced indirectly to close their business. Therefore the party requested the President of India to intervene into the matter very soon.

United Bank of India to open 7 more branches in State

BHUBANESWAR: United Bank of India (UBI) would open seven more branches in the State by March 2013, said Chairman and Managing Director of the bank Bhaskar Sen while inaugurating the bank’s own regional office building here on Wednesday. The bank would open its new branches at KIIT and Aiginia in the city, Phulnakhara in Cuttack, Premnagar in Brahmapur, Bhadrak, Barbil and Korukonda in Malkangiri, he informed.

Sen mentioned that the bank would take part in all Government sponsored schemes, poverty alleviation programmes as well as extending banking facilities to unbanked villages under Financial Inclusion Plan of the State. Referring to branch expansion plan, Sen said the bank has opened 20 branches during the last three years in the State. The bank has already opened three branches during the current year. The bank has 119 branches in the State that comes under two regional offices at Bhubaneswar and Sambalpur, Sen informed.  

Among others, RBI’s Regional Director V Rama Chandra Rao, Chief General Manager, NABARD, KK Gupta, UBI Executive Director Deepak Narang, Sanjay Arya, all the directors of the bank and senior executives of the bank were present.

‘Tribals need quality education with joyful learning’

Despite tall claims by the State and the Central Governments about impressive achievements in literacy rate, reduction of dropouts, universal education is yet to reach many tribal children in the State, said speakers at a meeting here.

Tribal areas have been the most backward due to lack of proper planning and implementation. One of the problems in the tribal school is language and dialect barrier.

The tribal children are very comfortable with their mother tongues, but they don’t get the opportunity to get education in their mother tongues. Education in a stranger

language hardly motivates them to go to schools. It is in this context that the tribal leaders have been reasonably demanding mother-tongue-based education for the tribal kids, they opined. “Researches have shown that when children start their pre-schools in their mother tongue their brains grow faster and their ability to learn multiple languages too grow,” said eminent tribal leader Krishnan of Tamil Nadu at a meeting here.

According to Sarvoday leader Aditya Patnaik, an activist working in the tribal areas of Mayurbhanj district, the tribal children lose interest in teaching due to language barrier. They fail to understand their teachers and the teaching as they are not comfortable with other languages than their mother tongue, he added.

“The Government should introduce elementary education in their mother tongue so that the tribals will be inspired to go to schools,” he suggested.

Patnaik also attributed increasing drop-out rate of the tribal children from schools to their livelihood problem. Most of the tribal people depend on water, land, forest and its products, but the rapid industrialisation and lack of interest of the Government to give land rights to the tribals have pushed the aboriginal tribes to a corner.

They are now being increasingly de-homed and deprived of their source of livelihood. The tribals after losing their livelihood are migrating with their children to other States in search of jobs, which leads their kids’ drop-outs, he added.

“The tribals are being exploited due to lack of education. So, they should be equipped with quality education to prove their mettle,” Patnaik said, warning, “If the Government fails to provide quality education, they would obviously choose the way of violence to get their right.”

According to social activist Santosh Sah of Malkangiri, most of the teachers are not coming to the schools regularly. “If teachers do not come to school, what the parents would do,” he asked. In some areas, schools are situated at a long distance from the tribal hamlets. The tribal kids don’t show interest to go to the schools due to the

distance. During rainy season, the children stop going to school for rain,” said tribal from Gajapati district Shibu Raita.

According to activist Dillip Das from Kalahandi district, the teachers don’t come to the school regularly which disrupts the studies of the students. The school children start forgetting the studies due to regular interruptions, said Das and advocated for joyful teaching.Dilapidated school buildings often discourage the pupils to come to school. Due to nexus between the venal Government officials and contractors, the school infrastructure is poorly built. In some schools, inordinate delays are made to complete school buildings.

The school inspectors or district officials never come for inspection, said Das. Das also referred to the schools in Kalahandi district where a dismal situation prevails due to lack of seriousness of the Government for the education of the tribals.

Some tribal people love their livelihood and never think about the education of their children. As a result, they engage their children in domestic works. In some cases, the tribal mothers engage their elder children to look after the younger ones when they leave home for work outside. This creates hindrances in the education of the tribal children, said a few speakers.

Therefore, the Government and the Non-Government Organisations should motivate the tribal people to send their children to school. At the same time, the Government should devise well-coordinated plans to boost the livelihood of the tribals in a sustainable manner. Only shedding crocodile tears for the tribals without doing any remarkable work would not solve the purpose, said the Sarvoday leaders.

Four Maoists arrested during combing operation

--Sabyasachi still untraceable for police

PARLAKHEMUNDI: The police arrested and court forwarded four Maoists from Bhaliagada village under Mohana block in Gajapati district during combing operation on Tuesday. The police have succeeded to get some important information about Sabyasachi and his aides, sources said.

They were identified as Kalia Mallick, Jalendra Mallick, Surendra Mallick and Bulu Mallick from Bhaliagada village where five Maoists were gunned down in police encounter. They were sent to jail when R Udaygiri court quashed their bail plea. The police seized country-made pistol and gun, four live bullets and 20 detonators from the possession of the Maoists.

According to the sources, the arrested Maoists gave some important information about Sabyasachi and his aides, their hiding and whereabouts. They said that Maoist Pradip has received grievous injury during the gun battle on November 14 encounter and he was under treatment in a secret place somewhere in the jungle.

The arrested Maoists said that Sabyasachi and his aide Nikita got severe bullet injury in their hands during the encounter. Apart from that the police have gotten some important clues which would help them to nab the aides of the Maoist leader, said the sources.

On the other hand, the combing operation is continued in the tri-junction area of Ganjam, Gajapati and Kandhamal district. On the seventh day of the operation on Tuesday, as many as 400 CRPF, SOG and police personnel from the three border district were used in the search operation. The joint forces have intensified the biggest manhunt from either sides of the jungle to nab the Maoist leader and his aides.

Though the police have succeeded to get information about Sabyasachi, still the Maoist leader is untraceable as seven days have already passed.