Patients Walk in the Dark to ‘Super-Specialty’ Care: Shimla Nagrik Sabha Warns of Stir Over Chamiyana Chaos
Shimla: Calling the situation at Atal Super-Specialty Hospital, Chamiyana, “cruel and inhuman,” the Shimla Nagrik Sabha (SNS) on Saturday gave an ultimatum to the state authorities to immediately fix the unsafe and chaotic access on the Bhattakufar–Chamiyana road, or face a public agitation.
Despite High Court strictures, SNS said the Health Department, PWD, HRTC and Shimla Municipal Corporation have shown “complete apathy,” forcing patients and attendants to suffer daily.
Patients from far-flung areas of Himachal are routinely left stranded. With no evening bus services, no streetlights and no parking, many are compelled to walk nearly a kilometre in pitch darkness after late OPDs.
“Doctors see patients till 9–10 pm, but after that we are on our own. Sick patients and attendants walk towards Bhattakufar or Sanjauli in the dark. This is not healthcare, it is harassment,” said an attendant.
SNS president Jagmohan Thakur said the hospital has been projected as an AIIMS-like facility, but basic infrastructure is missing.
“Four-lane trucks ply freely on this road, but when people ask for buses, authorities say the road is too narrow. This hypocrisy is costing patients their dignity and safety,” he said.
SNS secretary Vivek Kashyap said even a full day at the hospital is an ordeal.
“There is no proper transport, no parking, hardly any food facilities. Patients are treated like an afterthought,” he said.
The Sabha demanded:
Regular bus services from IGMC, Sanjauli, ISBT, Old Bus Stand and Dhalli from 7 am to 10 pm
Immediate construction of a large parking facility near the hospital
Basic market and food facilities around the hospital
Street lighting from Bhattakufar to Chamiyana
Full diagnostic services including CT scan and MRI at Chamiyana itself
Warning that patient numbers will only rise, SNS said running a super-specialty hospital without basic amenities exposes the government’s hollow claims. Failure to act, it warned, will lead to a major public protest against the administration and the state government.