The SCB Medical College and Hospital. Telegraph picture

Cuttack, June 10: Believe it or not, the SCB Medical College and Hospital authorities can spend just Rs 20 a day to feed a patient. With the prices soaring, the officials of the health hub have an uphill task in hand.

The hospital is supposed to feed 1,200 patients in Rs 24,000 (per day). The measly sum was so low a few years ago that it forced the hospital administration to discontinue cooked meals.

“Meeting the budget means that the diet has to be carefully planned. So, we switched over to bread, milk, egg, biscuit and fruit,” said a member of the hospital diet committee headed by the district collector.

Even maintaining that diet chart is difficult after Orissa Milk Federation (Omfed) raised the price of milk from Rs 17 per litre to Rs 20 per litre on June 1.

With half-a-litre of milk earmarked for each patient, at least 600 litres are required every day by the hospital. A hike of Rs 3 in the price of per litre of milk has made a further dent in the paltry budget.

Though the hospital administration and the state-run Omfed reportedly negotiated a minimum discount for the bulk purchase, the latter declined to give any further cut.

The exclusion of milk from the diet over the past week triggered demonstrations and protests.

“The patients’ meals have always been in a disarray in the state hospital. Even biscuits are not given regularly. It’s high time that the government revises the budget and resumes cooked meals,” said city Congress president Suresh Mohapatra.

Mohapatra led a daylong dharna before the hospital superintendent’s office on Monday to protest against the exclusion of milk from the daily diet.

Egged by protesters and for the welfare of the patients, the administration has decided to restart giving milk as a part of meals from today.

“We had no option but to resume the supply from Omfed,” hospital superintendent D.N. Moharana told the reporters.

Official sources said that when the administration tried to negotiate with private dairy farms for a discount on bulk purchase over the past week they were faced with a tougher term than Omfed.

Private farms reportedly demanded payments on daily basis, which the administration would not be able to meet.