Friends To Stage Protest At Gandhi Hospital Demanding Justice For Prakash’s Mother

Hyderabad: A massive protest is being organized on Wednesday at Gandhi Hospital by friends of L. Prakash who died on Monday after shuttling between two state-run hospitals due to lack of equipment for treatment.

Prakash’s friends asserted that their fight is to seek justice for his widowed mother - Chandramma (65) - who is partially paralyzed and mentally challenged.

It may be recalled that Prakash suffered injuries on Sunday evening after his bike skidded on a highway near Gajwel. He was first taken to a nearby hospital in Gajwel but as he sustained head injuries they referred him to Gandhi hospital. However, citing defunct CT machine the authorities referred to Osmania General Hospital (OGH). To their dismay, they were again asked to take Prakash back to Gandhi as OGH lacked a spare ventilator. In the mean time, Prakash slipped into coma and was declared dead when he was brought to Gandhi hospital.

Prakash’s friends asserted that their fight is to seek justice for his widowed mother - Chandramma (65) - who is partially paralyzed and mentally challenged

“Chandramma cannot survive without financial support. We have decided to seek justice for her by organizing a protest with all of Prakash’s friends getting involved,” said prakash’s friend Madhusudhan Reddy.

Chandramma has been dependent on Prakash for years and survives on a monthly widow pension of Rs 1,000 at her home at Begumpeta village, Rajapeta mandal in Nalgonda.

The family was hit by tragedy earlier too as Chandramma took care of her five children- four daughter and a son- after her husband Balaiah left 22 years ago.

Chandramma`s third daughter K Uma Rani rues, “We four sisters are all married but are not in a position to look after our mother as we lead a hand-to-mouth existence working as agricultural laborers.”

Meanwhile, Prakash’s cousin L Balakishen who will also take part in the protest said that even he is not in a position to give financial aid to Chandramma and it is government’s responsibility to support her as Prakash died in a government hospital for failing to get treatment.

Distressed over the sequences of event in Prakash’s death a city based NGO - Helping Hand Foundation - has come forward and sanctioned lifetime support of Rs. 3,000 per month for Chandramma for her maintenance under a community outreach programe.

“Unfortunately, incidents like this are quite common in government hospitals but only a few get attention,” said Mujtaba Askari Hasan, NGH preseident and Trustee.

On the other hand, a clean chit has been given to OGH staff by the authorities citing in the preliminary inquiry nothing was found to suggest that Prakash was denied ventilator support.

Prakash completed a course from the Industrial Training Institute (ITI) in Medchal, in 2014 and told his friends about a job offer to work as a fitter in a drug manufacturing company at Gajwel in Medak

OGH superintendent Dr GVS Murthy said, “The patient’s attendants decided to shift him (Prakash) to Gandhi Hospital on their own despite getting admission in neurosurgery ward at OGH. They did not even collect the CT scan report when they hurriedly took him to Gandhi Hospital late in the night.”

To this Balakishen said that they were sent away citing unavailability of ventilator support in the hospital.

Prakash completed a course from the Industrial Training Institute (ITI) in Medchal, in 2014 and told his friends about a job offer to work as a fitter in a drug manufacturing company at Gajwel in Medak.