Chandrasekharpur Zonal Dispensary on the ground floor of a housing board flat. Picture by Ashwinee Pati

Bhubaneswar, July 26: A zonal dispensary on the outskirts of the city has been operating without electricity and water supply and proper sanitation facilities for a while now.

Dumduma Zonal Dispensary, inaugurated on September 9, 1994, by the then chief minister Biju Patnaik, is locally known as ‘magana daktarkhana’, a hospital that distributes free medicine supplied by the state government.

“Sterilisation of medical instruments is not possible without electricity. Locals have been advised to carry hot water with them so that the instruments can be sterilised,” said a dispensary staff.

He added that the dilapidated building does not belong to the health department as it was originally the building of a city-based non-government organisation.

“When medical officers wrote to higher authorities requesting them to provide the facilities, they didn’t respond. This is perhaps because the building does not belong to the health department,” said another member of the staff on condition of anonymity.

“There is a lot of pressure on the zonal dispensary managing more than 100 patients. Moreover, the absence of the medical officer for two days in the week creates more load for paramedics. At times, we have to prescribe medicines ourselves,’’ the employees said.

It’s the same at the zonal dispensary at Chandrasekharpur. Though it has been in operation since 1988, it is yet to get shifted to its own premises. At present, it is situated at a ground floor flat owned by the State Housing Board.

“Being a government-managed dispensary, the primary health centre does not have water supply. So there is no toilet,” said a staff.

Chief medical officer of Capital hospital Gangadhar Rath said: “The authorities are aware of the problems and the Dumduma Zonal Dispensary will soon be transferred to a big and spacious building nearby. This building also belongs to an NGO, but the property transfer documents are over and only the fittings and plumbing work is left. We have already requested the engineering department concerned to start the work soon. As far as the Chandrasekharpur dispensary is concerned, steps will be taken to address the issue soon.”

Apart from these, The Telegraph team scanned two more zonal dispensaries to find out if any loopholes existed. Sahid Nagar Zonal Dispensary runs with many problems.

“Between 4pm and 6pm no doctor visits the clinic. On most occasions, we have to seek the opinion of doctors from outside,” said Trilochan Mohapatra (78) who resides near the dispensary.

However, the zonal dispensary at Jharapada has all basic amenities and staff and one allopathic and homoeopathic doctor each.