Kushinagar CMO Suspended After 9 Musahars Died in a Month

Following nine deaths of Musahar in the past one month in Kushinagar district of Uttar Pradesh, the state government on Friday has suspended Dr. Haricharan Singh, chief medical officer (CMO), Kushinagar, for negligence.

Out of nine, one patient from the Musahar community was forced to be treated by a jholachhap doctor (quack) in the village instead of getting treated at the district hospital. People from the community were agitating against the CMO after the patient died during the treatment.

The decision to suspend the CMO was announced by Devesh Chaturvedi, principal secretary, Medical, Health and Family Welfare Department.

Speaking to NewsClick, Sudarshan Prasad, head of the Sorahawa village – where the incident has taken place – said, "Sudarshan (35), son of Laxmi Prasad, was suffering from brain paralysis and we took him to Samour village in Bihar for treatment, but after returning, he died. Another woman named Bedami (32) has died due to tumour in the stomach and we took her to the district hospital in Kushinagar. She was admitted for two days, but she died on the way to her home.”

When asked why Sudarshan wasn’t taken to the district hospital, he said, "Earlier, we used to take every paralysis patient to Bihar, which is 70-80 km from our village. So, we thought that he would also be fine, but we could not save him. There is no health community centre in our village; nor do doctors visit our village. But after death of the two Musahars, doctors have started visiting. We go Dudahi block for any emergency which is six kilometre away from our village.”

Nine people of Musahar community have died reportedly due to malnutrition and other diseases in the past one month in three villages of Dudahi block in Kushinagar. Following this, administrative officials reported paid a visits to the village. More than half a dozen Musahars were found to be suffering from fever and stomachache in the village, who were shifted to the government hospital for the treatment.

Vibhuti Chauhan, a Communist Party of India (CPI) leader based in Kushinagar, told NewsClick, "The deaths are increasing because Musahars are dependent on jholachap doctors and hardly visit the government hospitals because financial constraints. For the death of Musahars, these doctors are responsible who are prescribing any medicine without any knowledge about it. I do not think suspending the CMO will solve the problem. The main reason why Mushars don't visit government hospitals is they get medicines on credit and later, they pay these doctors, who also take extra money from Musahars."

"The government needs to generate awareness. Rampurpatti, Sorahawa and Tharibhar are a few villages in Kushinagar district where Musahars are in large numbers, but their condition is worse than animals. They don't have anything – health, house, food or cleanliness. How would they survive?" Chauhan questioned.

NewsClick also spoke to current Chief Medical Officer (CMO) Sudarshan Sonkar who took charge on Saturday, September 7. He said, "The previous CMO was suspended because three Musahars died in a span of 15 days in Sorahawa village. He was accused of not controlling quacks and unlicensed doctors. He was also accused of gross negligence towards health activities."

When asked how he plans to control the deteriorating health conditions of Musahars, Sonkar said that he has started the health awareness programme among the community members because they are not aware of the side effects of the wrong medicines, and will also motivate them to ensure hygiene. “Also, there is a need to introduce the government’s flagship nutrition scheme,” he said.