country. It was a sprawling campus with a whitewashed brick fence
all around. A huge limply hung signboard feebly proclaimed it as
Primary Health Centre, Jhinjhana (District Muzaffarnagar).
Information on various National and State Health programs was
painted on the walls. He entered through the main gate and was
pleased to see the campus. It was a complex with the main building
in the center and many smaller buildings spread across. There were
many trees with mango seeming to be the dominant species. Rajiv made a beeline for the main building. The first thing that
his senses took in was the complete absence of any kind of noise. A shroud of silence covered the area. Forget the people; Rajiv could not make out the presence of any bird or insects. He could not spot even a stray dog around. He pushed opened the screen door and entered inside what appeared to be the waiting hall. The room was deserted. An open register was lying on the reception counter and there were around twenty entries on the current date. He peeked into the doctor's chamber. Everything was shipshape. The table was neatly arranged, the chair was in place but there was nobody around. “Hello, koi hai?” he shouted at the top of his voice. His voice echoed around. Suddenly he thought he felt a shadow fleet past behind him and he turned immediately to find the space unoccupied. He ran towards the wardroom he thought he had seen the shadow move towards but there too he could not find anyone. “Where have I landed?” Rajiv lamented.
He retraced his steps, parked his bag in the doctor's room and came out. He blinked in the harsh sunlight and looked around. The buildings at the side appeared to be some kind of residential quarters. He decided to check them out. He was walking towards the quarters when he saw a man hurrying towards him. He was dressed in white shirt, the uniform of a PHC health worker. He peered short sighted at the smart young man dressed in jeans, T-shirt and dark glasses and decided that the doctor had arrived. “Namaskar, Dr. Babu. We have been waiting for you since morning.” He turned around and shouted, “Sister, Ramu, Aslam, Doctor Babu is here!”
Rajiv sat on the swiveling chair in his office and met the subordinate staff. The office was small but clean. It had a table, few chairs and an examination couch for patients in one corner. The
The Other Side
259 table had been dusted and a clean sheet put on the couch in anticipation of his arrival. There was a duty room for doctors with a bed, an air cooler and an attached toilet behind his office. Rajiv was told that there had been no doctor in the PHC since the last one had been transferred some six months back. The skeletal staff of two nurses, one pharmacist, one health worker, two sweepers and a Chowkidar had been managing the health center. There were few patients and there was not much to do. The staff had been informed that a new doctor would be arriving and that is why everything was spic and span. They had waited for him till half past noon and then gone off for lunch.
The nurses and the health workers lived in the village and only the Pharmacist and the Chowkidar lived on campus. Rajiv's quarters were still not furnished and he did not want to spend his fees seeking rural accommodation. On learning that the new doctor intended to live on the campus, there was a general air of consternation.
“No sir, you cannot live here.”
“The power supply is erratic and sometimes it comes for only six hours. The generator is not working. The inverter also lasts for just three hours.”
“Where will you eat?”
“It is too far from the village and not safe at night, Dr. Babu.” The above statements from the staff repeatedly formed the
chorus of protest that greeted his announcement.
“Listen, all of you. I am going to live on the campus and so shall
the rest of my staff. I'll get the quarters repaired, the generator fixed
and other arrangements made in a few days. I'll live in the duty
room till then. Ramu will get me food from the village three times a day. Now that I am here, we will start the indoor by next month,”
Rajiv declared emphatically.
He then dismissed his staff and decided to take a bath before
Ramu brought his food.
“Sir, believe me. It is not safe to stay here at night. The
Chowkidar has night blindness and the Pharmacist is a hopeless
drunk. They don't know what goes on here at night,” the rotund
nurse muttered ominously.
Rajiv dismissed the warnings with a shrug. 'No doctor for six
months has spoiled the staff. They don't want to work and simply
want their salary. Never mind, I'll soon fix all that!' he thought. After his lunch, the fatigue of travel caught up with Rajiv and
he dropped off to sleep.
He woke up in the evening, refreshed and raring to go. He