Forgotten Heroes: “I have always wondered how, the Muslims and the Hindus together, had decided to set a Mandir on fire”, said Dr. ftekhar Ansari recalling the....Read Full

At last Malegaon gets a Government Hospital

Months of speculations over as Sonia Gandhi inaugurates 200 bed hospital this afternoon

Tuesday, June 30, 2009 03:45 PM, ummid.com Staff Reporter

Malegaon: Congress President Mrs. Sonia Gandhi inaugurated the 200-bed General Hospital today afternoon in Malegaon. With this months of speculations over who would actually cut the ribbon before the hospital is opened for the general public came to an end.

"Today I formally declare to handover this magnificent hospital for the people in and around Malegaon", Mrs. Gandhi said in her inaugural speech while recalling the promise she had made to the people in 2006.

The hospital would be opened for the general public from tomorrow.

Earlier in her speech Mrs. Gandhi while terming the tremendous work done by her government for the minorities and the weaker section of the society no less than a history said, "We have worked for the minorities and dalits in the past and will continue to do so in future."

Stating that Malegaon is the place where people from all across the country come and settle to earn their livelihood, Mrs. Gandhi said, "Our wholehearted support will always be there for Malegaon and its revival."

While the inaugural function was presided over by State Chief Minister Ashok Chavan, Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad was present on the occasion as a Chief Guest.

Besides them, Dy. Chief Minister Chagan Bhujbal and half a dozen State ministers were also present in the much awaited and widely publicised function attended by local leaders and a select gathering of 5000 people.

Owing to the strict security measures for Mrs. Sonia Gandhi, the general public was not allowed to attend the much awaited inaugural function.

"The inaugural function would be attended only by a gathering of selected people who are already issued the entry passes", Sanjay Patil Additional SP said in a press release circulated in the local media while appealing the people not to crowd the venue.

Though Malegaon has a couple of other hospitals run by the Civic Body, they miserably lack in professional staff, machineries and other facilities. "With the opening of this hospital people in Malegaon would not have to rush to the neighboring places and private hospitals for medical treatment", assured the local administration.

Cost of the Hospital 

Though the government figures show an estimated 16 crore rupees that were spent on the hospital, locals believe the Malegaonians have paid a very heavy price to get this hospital for the town.

“We had undergone through a series of communal riots and two terrorist attacks before the  Government realized the town needs an equipped government hospital in the town”, Malik Bakrawala, a local activist says while speaking to ummid.com. “Apart from whatever the Government had spent on this hospital in the form of money, the innocent lives killed in several riots and specially those who were killed in 2006 serial blast played a major role in converting this dream project into a reality for the Malegaonians", he adds.

The hospital inauguration was earlier planned before the parliamentary elections. However after the strong opposition from few local leaders who threatened of dire consequences if the hospital was inaugurated without the required machineries, the authorities postponed its opening.

The General Hospital was promised by Mrs. Sonia Gandhi herself when she had visited the town after 2006 serial blast. And how important this project was for her can be gauged from the fact that after winning the parliamentary election, she began her Maharatshtra tour by inaugurating this hospital. She is scheduled to inaugurate the Bandra- Worli sea link later in the evening.

The Road that led to the Hospital

Shashwat Gupta Ray is the senior journalist who had exposed the role of the Hindu Extremists involved in the April 2006 Nanded blast. On the first anniversary of the Malegaon 2006 blast, he was in Malegaon to cover the demonstration organized by the local organizations to protest against the shoddy probes carried by the investigating agencies. Walking down the streets he was aghast to see the general conditions in Malegaon and the people who were literally living under inhuman conditions. “These are the real facts of Malegaon that unfortunately were earlier hidden under the debris of the communal riots and are now being buried under the shadow of the terrorist attacks”, Shashwat had observed.

His observations have now become a history. However by maintaining communal harmony after the terrorist attacks in 2006 and 2008, meant according to the investigating agencies for creating communal unrest in the town, the Malegaonians forced the Government to realize the injustice and negligence meted to Malegaon – the town in North Maharashtra famous for the textile industry and predominated by the Muslim populations, ever since independence.

Leave alone the other facilities enjoyed by the neighboring places, the government failed in providing the essential services and basic amenities to Malegaon in last sixty years. That the town doesn’t have even a proper government hospital was brought to the notice of every leader visiting the town after any calamity. In fact when Mrs. Sonia Gandhi was in Malegaon after the worst ever communal riots in October 2001, she had reportedly suggested to Vilasrao Deshmukh, then Chief Minister of the State, who had accompanied her to the town that Malegaon should at least have a government owned general hospital.

However, Vilasrao Deshmukh did not pay any heed to Mrs. Gandhi’s suggestion and it was only in 2006 when she visited the town once again after the serial blast that Mrs. Gandhi realised her suggestion made to the State Government five years before was thrown into somewhere in a dustbin.

“Many innocent lives would have been saved had there been a proper government hospital at the time the terrorists attacked the worshipers who were praying inside the mosque”, Shafeeque Ahmad had said to Mrs. Gandhi while refusing to accept the compensation cheque saying, “The town needs actual amenities instead of few thousand rupees.” Shafeeque Ahmad had lost his son and the nephew in the blast.

Seldom had in the history anyone returned the compensation cheque in the manner Shafeeque Ahmad did in front of Mrs. Gandhi. “Mrs. Gandhi was stunned beyond imagination. The incident made the headlines for next several days”, Imtiyaz Khalil, a journalist who had witnessed the incident recalls.

Vilasrao Deshmukh was sitting by her side even this time around and though Mrs. Gandhi was shocked, he sat unperturbed throughout the drama, recalls Malik Bakrawala. Later on Mrs. Gandhi herself promised a general hospital for Malegaon.

However having promised by Mrs. Gandhi, undoubtedly the most powerful person in the country, doesn’t mean the Malegaonians got the hospital in a first go. It required continuous follow-up with the Central Government and the personal effort persistently taken by the Planning Commission Member Dr. Syeda Hameed before Malegaon could actually see the promise made by Mrs. Gandhi translating into a reality.

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Comments:

The Scheme is a slap the to this highly victimised town of Malegaon. Its  going to be a great Example how you Create a New Slum by removing the Older one.
The 11000 homes !

Where?
For whom?
Of what quality?
With what social Justice?
With who's Neighbourhood concept?
What level of degradation?
....... N numbers.

Arif Shah - A r c h i t e c t
Vice-President-Design
Sanveo Green Buildings.
US-UAE-INDIA

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