K. Muraleedharan, Kerala Health Minister, stated on July 19 that food distribution by NGOs in government hospitals hinders the smooth operation of hospitals. He was obviously referring to the food supply by Sevabharati in various medical colleges and district general hospitals. ISKCON and DYFI are also providing the same service in some hospitals. He said the government would stop food distribution under the banners and flags of any organisation; it would be stopped at any cost. He said ‘camouflaged’ food supply would not be allowed. He added that the Minister is the authority in the hospital, not Sevabharati.
The Minister said the Health Department has decided to introduce a ‘Community Kitchen’ to bring transparency and discipline. It is going to be introduced at Alappuzha Medical College on an experimental basis.
However, sharp criticism has been raised by several organisations against Muraleedharan. When criticism came from the opposition parties and the Congress, his own party, he did a somersault. He came out with a clarification that the government was not stopping anybody’s food supply, but had evicted illegal encroachments on hospital land and platform food vendors. He alleged that those actions were being portrayed as stopping food distribution. However, he insisted that food supply for patients should be through the ‘Community Kitchen’. Despite this, the authorities are reportedly still stopping the distribution of food packets.
Sevabharati has been distributing food to bystanders and patients in all government medical colleges in the state and in Taluk hospitals across all districts for the last several decades. Ernakulam District General Hospital, Thiruvananthapuram Medical College, Thiruvananthapuram Fort Hospital, Thiruvananthapuram Thycaud Hospital, Alappuzha Medical College, Kottayam Medical College, Kozhikode Medical College and Wayanad Medical College are among them.
Sevabharati carries out similar activities in all districts of the state. These activities are being carried out at more than fifty centres.
The Minister says that the government machinery feeds the patients; however, the question arises, ‘Who feeds the bystanders?’ Under normal circumstances, poor people avail themselves of treatment and facilities at government hospitals. Naturally, the bystanders also belong to the same section of society. They are human beings too, and they need food. Therein lies the relevance of the NGOs’ food distribution.
In Thiruvananthapuram, Sevabharati runs an institution called Ananthashayi with 8 to 10 rooms. It provides accommodation for patients and bystanders who come to Thiruvananthapuram for treatment. Sevabharati workers engaged in food distribution at various hospitals in Thiruvananthapuram also organise Ona Sadya (Onam feast) every Onam for doctors and nurses who cannot celebrate the festival at home with their families.
Patients, bystanders, doctors and nurses hold Sevabharati’s service in high esteem. Interestingly, Sevabharati workers distribute food outside the hospital premises; hence, there is no question of encroachment.
Still, the Minister wants to sabotage it. On the other hand, the Kerala government’s poor financial condition does not permit it even to run hospitals properly and maintain hygienic conditions. Yet the Minister is playing cheap politics, even though he is aware that it will jeopardise the interests of patients and bystanders.
Patients and bystanders expressed strong protests over the Minister’s statement when the media approached them for comments. They strongly criticised the Minister’s statement and angrily asked whether the government was going to feed them instead of Sevabharati.
