Patna: Aasra Home - a shelter home for women with mental disabilities in Rajiv Nagar area - is again in the news. Two inmates of the shelter home were on Sunday admitted to Patna Medical College and Hospital after their condition deteriorated.

Khusbu Kumari and Devi Kumari, both 20 years of age, were admitted to PMCH as they were malnourished and suffering from malaria.

The state social welfare department runs the Aasra Home at Rajiv Nagar, after the arrest of Manisha Dayal (treasurer) and Chirantan Kumar (secretary) of the NGO Anumaya Human Resources Foundation. The social welfare department claims to have initiated several steps to improve the living condition of inmates. But the hospitalisation of two inmates at PMCH once again shows that the shelter home inmates are not getting proper care and medical assistance.

The deaths of three inmates of the shelter home were reported in the past month.

Similarly, on several occasions, inmates tried to escape from the shelter home.

Only on Saturday, one of two missing female inmates of the shelter home was recovered safely from Saguna Mor in Danapur. Meera, 35, and Anita, 30 had escaped from the shelter home on Wednesday.

Daisy, an official at the shelter home, had lodged a missing complaint at Rajiv Nagar police station.

Sources said the two inmates escaped from the shelter home through the kitchen, which is attached to a passage leading to other house terrace.

On Friday, another inmate of the home had died in hospital. Anamika Kumari, 27, died at Patna Medical College and Hospital around 8pm on Friday. She was admitted there with breathing problems around 9.40pm on Thursday.

Authorities said this was the first case of a shelter inmate dying at PMCH. "She was complaining of breathlessness and was severely anaemic. She died around 8pm on Friday," the hospital superintendent had said. Fourteen inmates from different shelters are being treated at PMCH.

"Officials assigned the duty of looking after shelter home inmates should regularly visit it to build up confidence of inmates," said Usha Vidyarthi, a member of the state women's commission.

"Though the Aasra Home at Rajiv Nagar is being taken over by the social welfare department, the department should probe the functioning of other shelter homes, like observation homes, homes for the elderly, etc."

The women's commission member claimed financial audit of all such NGOs should also be carried out.

Sources said that though the shelter home is being looked after by the government department, a lot of measures are yet to be taken to improve the living condition of inmates.

"The inmates are kept in poor hygienic conditions with no proper facilities," an officer had said earlier.

Also, to make matters worse, after the incident, doctors and nurses are not interested in joining duty.

Raj Kumar, director of the social welfare directorate, said: "Doctors assigned duty to look after inmates at Aasra Home are not interested in joining duty because of the media hype. We are not getting doctors willing to work round-the-clock at shelter homes."

Raj Kumar further said: "As doctors and nurses are afraid of working at the shelter home, even for minor medical complications, we are forced to take the patients and get them admitted to hospitals."

Apart from Aasra Home at Rajiv Nagar, the social welfare department has two other shelter homes in Patna.

The social welfare department, with help from TISS, Unicef, Care India and other social organisations, is preparing standard operating procedures (SOP) for running such shelter homes.

Also, the social welfare department, has at the policy level decided to take over shelter homes and observation homes meant for women, children and elderly people from different NGOs.

In Bihar, the social welfare department has around 90 such homes located at different parts of state.