Deprecated (16384): The ArrayAccess methods will be removed in 4.0.0.Use getParam(), getData() and getQuery() instead. - /home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line: 150
 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php. [CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311]
Deprecated (16384): The ArrayAccess methods will be removed in 4.0.0.Use getParam(), getData() and getQuery() instead. - /home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line: 151
 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php. [CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311]
Warning (512): Unable to emit headers. Headers sent in file=/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php line=853 [CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 48]
Warning (2): Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php:853) [CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 148]
Warning (2): Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php:853) [CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 181]
LATEST NEWS UPDATES | With Reduced Access to Healthcare, Demonetisation Deaths Are Likely Far Higher Than Reported -Bharat Dogra

With Reduced Access to Healthcare, Demonetisation Deaths Are Likely Far Higher Than Reported -Bharat Dogra

Share this article Share this article
published Published on Dec 27, 2016   modified Modified on Dec 27, 2016
-TheWire.in

According to doctors working in hospitals providing low-cost treatment, the number of patients has reduced by about 30% since demonetisation.

The recent debate on demonetisation-related deaths has taken place mainly in the context of people who died while waiting in bank queues or collapsed while standing in these queues and died soon after. In addition, there are those whose sudden death is being attributed to stress from not finding valid currency for urgent needs, such as a wedding. There are also those who committed suicide due to frustration at not getting cash or related hardships. And finally there are the few bank employees who are reported to have died due to stress and overwork.

Several cases falling in all four categories listed above have been reported in the media. Not all of them were poor. Retired Flying Officer Prahlad Singh bravely fought in two wars to defend his country, but collapsed and died while waiting in a bank queue in Laadnu (Rajasthan). Senior cashier Purushottam Vyas died while counting cash in his bank in Bhopal. Saud-ur-Rehman, a poster designer, died while standing in a bank queue in Old Delhi. Satish Kumar, a west Delhi vegetable vendor, died while waiting in a bank queue. Asha Rani, a widow living in Ludhiana, was waiting in a bank queue to withdraw cash needed for a family wedding when she collapsed after being pushed and died. Rajesh Kumar, a cooperative bank manager in Rohtak, died in his cabin due to overwork, he had not been able to go home for three days. Rambhavan Singh of Banda district in Uttar Pradesh committed suicide after he could not withdraw money from his bank. Mohammad Haider had struggled to arrange a loan for his daughter’s wedding, but after demonetisation he could not use these notes for wedding expenses and died in a heart attack right on the wedding day.

These are only a few of the several tragic examples already reported in the media. In terms of numbers, various media sources have been between 80 and 100 deaths, while Congress leaders mentioned 84 deaths in parliament. The Uttar Pradesh government has promised compensation of Rs 2 lakh to family members of such victims in the state, while the Bengal government has offered a job to a family member of a deceased. The Union government, however, has not acknowledged the existence of these victims or the reality of such deaths.

Demonetisation-related deaths are likely to be much higher than what has been reported generally in the media or even alleged by opposition leaders. The reason for this is that while bank queue deaths have received considerable attention, another category which is likely to have much higher numbers has not received the same attention. The reference here is to people requiring urgent medical attention who could not get this due to the cash crunch.

Of course in India even in normal times many people desperately needing medicare are denied this due to poverty, absence of adequate public healthcare facilities, poor transport and other factors, in many cases resulting in death. This happens in cases relating to diseases as well as injuries (accidental as well as other injuries). However, as a result of demonetisation, the number of such serious patients increased dramatically. People could not access even their own savings, while wages were not paid in time and crops remained unsold or fetched much less price because of the cash crunch. Even money needed for immediately taking patients to hospitals could not be arranged in many cases, let alone the full costs of treatment.

I checked at some hospitals famous for providing low-cost treatment to poor patients in remote areas and found that the number of patients coming to these hospitals came down significantly after demonetisation. Shaheed Hospital in Dalli Rajhara, Chattisgarh, is one such hospital. Dr Saibal Jana, coordinator of the hospital, said that after demonetisation, the number of patients coming to the OPD of this normally crowded hospital decreased suddenly by about 30%.

Please click here to read more.

TheWire.in, 26 December, 2016, https://thewire.in/89579/healthcare-demonetisation-deaths/


Related Articles

 

Write Comments

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*

Video Archives

Archives

share on Facebook
Twitter
RSS
Feedback
Read Later

Contact Form

Please enter security code
      Close