Sanjay Pramanik was putting up lights at a pandal in Serampore on the eve of Saraswati Puja when he slipped and fell off a ladder. The fall led to multiple fractures and Pramanik had to undergo a critical surgery. But a month later, he is back on his feet.

Pramanik, who was allegedly turned away by six government hospitals in Calcutta as there were no beds available, finally got a fresh lease of life at Sramajibi Hospital in Belur, Howrah.

S. Mukherjee, one of the two spine surgeons attached with the hospital, operated on him. "He had a vertebrae fracture which we fixed with a screw. He also had a humerus fracture. That too has been fixed. His recovery has been very good so far. He is walking now," said the doctor, who stays in Behala and travels all the way to Belur to attend to patients in the OPD every Tuesday. Pramanik had lost consciousness as soon as he fell. "The next thing I know I was in this hospital," said the employee of a printing press in Serampore.

He was first taken to Serampore Welsh Hospital, where doctors allegedly only administered saline. "So we took him to Calcutta, to SSKM, Calcutta Medical College, Bangur Institute of Neurology, Sambhunath Pandit and finally to NRS. But no beds were available," said Tapas Saha, the patient's brother-in-law.

Their final stop was Sramajibi Hospital, a facility built by the workers of a sick industrial unit - Indo-Japan Steel Employees' Union - with donations from locals and outsiders in 1983. The hospital offers treatment at "cost price" and has been a boon for all those who cannot afford private medical care in a state where government hospitals health services prove inadequate.

"This is not a profit-making hospital, we have no overheads, so we can afford to offer medical services at cost rates," said Phanigopal Bhattacharya, working president of Sramajibi Hospital. A digital X-ray here costs Rs 120 (Rs 140-400 in most private hospitals), an ECG for Rs 40 (Rs 100 onwards in most private hospitals), a USG of abdomen for Rs 300 (Rs 450-Rs 3,000 in most private hospitals) and a cardiac bypass for just Rs 25,000. Outdoor consultation by specialists is available at Rs 11 only.

Local doctors vouch by the facilities on offer at the Khamarpara facility. "Belur Sramajibi Hospital has been here for a while and is for those who cannot afford private medical care and have not been able to get treatment at government facilities. The rates offered here are low and the quality of treatment is good," said S. Pal, a medical practitioner in Howrah.

The hospital boasts 30 beds and indoor patients are charged Rs 55 in the general ward and Rs 600 in special wards that are air-conditioned and equipped with monitors.

A motley crowd of people can be seen at Sramajibi Hospital, a stone's throw away from Belur Math, on any day. "Every day, there is a crowd of people here, waiting for their turn in the OPD," said Rina Das, a frequent visitor from Liluah. "I have received good medical care here at a nominal cost, whereas in most government hospitals the treatment is indifferent. The staff here are sympathetic and professional. My husband has had a fistula operation here for just Rs 6000. Today, I am here for my mother-in-law who has had a tumour removed."

Bibhas Das, a private tutor from Baranagar, has admitted his wife for a cyst operation. "I was recommended Sramajibi Hospital by many of my acquaintances. I came here around noon and by 2pm my wife has been admitted. The entire process is very systematic," said Das who has to shell out Rs 10,000 for the surgery in Sramajibi while he was quoted Rs 25,000 for the same surgery at a private nursing home.

The hospital's development work is funded by donation. "Locals as well as NRIs send donations throughout the year. We had organised a donation drive from 2005-06 where a team of 18 to 20 members travelled by bus from the Sunderbans to Alipurduar and collected over Rs 1crore," Bhattacharya said.

Leading doctors from Calcutta and elsewhere have come to serve at Sramajibi Hospital for free. "There was a junior doctors' movement in 1982 in the city, demanding better OPD facilities. It was around that time that surgeon Pallab Das, general practitioner Anil Saha, orthopaedic Adit De, gynaecologist Mousumi Nandy and others became involved in the Sramajibi movement," said Bhattacharya.

De joined the hospital soon after graduating from RG Kar Medical College. "The atmosphere is good, there are a lot of patients and much opportunity to practise. It started out small but now it has very good infrastructure with state-of-the art equipment. I have done total hip replacments, total knee replacements and spinal surgeries here with success," he said.

The hospital is now spreading its wings with a 500-bed facility in Serampore. The Belur hospital will soon have another building on a nearby five-bigha plot donated by a local family of three siblings.

The foundation stone for that was laid on Sunday where all those connected with the hospital took part.