PRINCE KUMAR
Ranchi, March 3: The community kitchen at Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) which was launched to allow family members of patients to cook home-like food at a subsidised cost has now turned into a horror movie set.
The kitchen was launched on the Bariatu premises of the state-run hospital on June 28, 2010. Twelve years down the line, the dingy, cobwebbed structure looks more like a horror movie set complete with dry leaves for special effect.
A RIMS insider said that due to a scam of Rs 35 lakhs in the community kitchen the services were stopped and the place became idle.
“With the kitchen beyond access, people depend on the RIMS canteen and a Dhabi outside. Hygiene in these places is anybody’s guess,” he said.
“In the meantime, the anti-social activities have started taking place there as it remains abandoned and people visiting the hospital get a good place for different anti-social activities,” he added.
However, the RIMS authority claimed that the kitchen was closed because it was not viable anymore.
“The community kitchen was started under IOCL’s corporate social responsibility. The charge for using the kitchen was Rs 2 for 15 minutes. After LPG prices were hiked, the kitchen fee was increased accordingly and the footfall of users dropped. Finally, it had to be closed.”
At the same time, a portion of the community kitchen had been turned into a canteen where breakfast, lunch and dinner are available at reasonable rates.
A RIMS doctor said that the closed community kitchen was only the tip of an iceberg. “If probed deeper, you will see the system is collapsing everywhere. From the attendance of doctors to the condition of medical equipment, distribution of medicine and availability of blood, nothing is in order,” he added.
