I wanted to post something else today but I came across a series of articles which totally shocked me and this is a thing which needs to be addressed. I loved my four years in the secluded campus at Kharagpur for a lot of reasons and equally hated it too for a lot of restrictions and we-don’t-care attitude of most of the administration. What happened on 22nd March 2009 goes to show how careless the administration at the oldest premier institute of our country is.

It was shocking to hear that Rohit Kumar, a 3rd year student at IIT Kharagpur, died mainly because there was no one to cure him for over two or three hours on the campus. The fact that his life depended on a doctor over 100 kms away in Kolkata and it took the doctors on campus such a long time to get an ambulance, shattered any ray of hope. A detailed coverage of what exactly happened can be found in our insti newsletter – Scholar’s Avenue – over here.

I came across another tragic incident today – Gaurav Tomar, a 5th year student of IIT Kharagpur, is fighting for his life in Delhi at the Appolo hospital. I was from LLR Hall too and know him very well – we were part of the soccer, choreography and other hostel activity teams and it is quite shocking to know that he too is a victim of the careless and lazy attitude of BC Roy hospital.

What enrages me more is the fact that around 3 or 4 years back when Scholar’s Aveneue printed an article which highlighted BC Roy Hospital’s inadequate facilities on the front page of their newsletter, the institute administration banned the newsletter. The reason obviously being that the article could have proved to be a significant black mark on the brand name if it were to leak out to the press. And now after the death of one student and with another student in critical condition, the administration has finally started to wake up. Which is hard to believe, but the student community, and I am certain about this, will make sure that the actions are put in place. Nagarjun Kota and Subhendu from LLR Hall have already started acting towards improving the situation. Details are provided here.

An artificial heart for Rs 1 lakh, courtesy IIT-Kgp – This was an article which was covered by TOI just a few weeks back. Kudos to the SMST (School of Medical Science and Technology) scientists for their achievement. If the institute is capable of such feats why have they not been able to set up a decent hospital for campus residents even after 58 years of existence!

IITs will need to upgrade medical facilities by a huge amount.

• Premier medical institutes and hospitals should be involved to restructure the medical facilities on campus
• Tie-ups with premier hospitals – on a rotational basis well qualified doctors (neurologists) etc could be asked to stay on campus to build necessary facilities and train doctors. This could go on for say 2-3 years before the hospital is in a state where it can run on its own.
• Hire more doctors and doctors who are qualified to handle critical situations -increase pay to attract good quality doctors. Providing externship opportunities to qualified doctors is also another option.
• Funding (from Govt., alumni and other contributions) should be allocated to build the necessary infrastructure. New student gymkhana can wait as there are more pressing and basic needs to be fulfilled.
• I think a committee for monitoring the BC Roy Hospital’s activities is already being set up
• I am not sure if this is feasible but we do have a helipad and yes it will require a high investment, but if a situation such as what happened on March 22nd occurs an helicopter ambulance could transport the victim to Kolkata in shorter time and proper treatment can be administered. This will prevent a total helpless situation.
• Involve SMST in building BC Roy Hospital. You spend so much on world class projects you can definitely spend on improving some basic facilities internally.

Mere resignation and statements such as “we are thinking about how to improve BC Roy Hospital” mean nothing. I hope actions are taken and taken fast…. at least this time.

Drop in your suggestions or other ideas to improve the situation at Scholar’s Avenue.

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