In high profile Parliamentary constituency, Vadodara, workers' safety, health take a back seat

By A Representative
Even as the campaigning for the Lok Sabha elections is going on in full swing, Workers Health and Safety Net (WHSN), Vadodara, has sought answers from the two main warring parties as to why some of the basic issues related to workers’ safety in this industrial city remain unresolved, despite several representations. Led by four senior activists, Bharat Pathak, Rohit Prajapati, Jagdish Patel and Kantibhai Mistry, and accompanied by workers, a group of representatives from the WHSN visited the Employees’ State Insurance (ESI) Hospital in Vadodara to find out whether their earlier representation to improve situation with regard to workers’ safety and health had made any impact.
A WHSN statement said, they had visited the hospital on October 7, 2013 and had even made written representation to the ESIS director nearly a fortnight later, on October 20, 2013. “It is now six months that we made the representation”, the statement said, adding, “During our visit on April 18, 2014, again, the situation has not changed, and we were not surprised.” The visit is considered significant, as it comes in a city which has suddenly shot into prominence – it is from here that the BJP’s Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi is fighting polls.

In a pointed question, the statement wondered, “Do the candidates representing BJP, Congress and others intending to represent people of Vadodara in Parliament know what the situation is of this important social security scheme affecting thousands of workers and other problems faced by workers? Do they know in which corner of the city ESI Hospital is situated? Will they know even after getting elected? Will they ever visit this hospital? Do they have any dreams or schemes to improve the working of ESI? When workers and industries keep the wallet of ESI full of money why is this situation?”
The statement state, during the latest visit, the activists and workers found that “the cleanliness standards in the hospital are very poor, bed sheets are not only not changed daily but not even once in a week, pillows are so filthy and old that even if you donate them no one will accept, cots are old and its legs bent inside, toilets and bathrooms are not maintained well, and there are buckets in there, not even electric lamps.”

Further, the statement said, there are “no Anglo-Indian tubs for the patients who cannot squat, there is no warm water facility for patients to take bath in winter and so on, there is no sink to wash hands or brush teeth, there is no water in some washrooms, and some sink have been broken but broken pieces have not been removed.” For drinking water “there are several water coolers but only one is working, there is inadequacy of staff for cleaning, the floor is moped once only in a day, sonography machine is out of order for quite some time, and patients are sent to the SSG Hospital, where there are long queues, and at times ESI patients bribe the staff to jump queue.”
The statement further said, “Some fans in ward and waiting room are no t in working condition. Patients are provided food but the patient has to bring utensils like plate, glass etc. from home. Earlier pure ghee was used but there now only hydrogenated oil is used in kitchen. Outpatient department (OPD) timings are from 8 am but doctors start their work at 10 am and patients are to keep waiting. Doctors take round of ward once only in a day.”

Pointing out that the “hospital building is very old and need repairs in big way”, the statement said, “There is no psychiatrist appointed hence patients with mental health problem are sent to the SSG Hospital. In Vadodara there were two dispensaries, at Gorwa and Makarpura, which were kept open for 12 hours, since these are industrial areas. Both have been now converted to routine six hour split timing dispensaries, and times are 8.30 to 12 noon and 4.30-7.00pm. In the period 2003-08 nine dispensaries in different parts of city were closed down and merged with other dispensaries. The ESI Chest hospital has also been closed.”
Says social activist Jagdish Patel, "Last October I received call from a friend saying his son is hospitalized in ESI (Indian Social Security) Hospital and the situation is horrible for the patients.I was visiting Khambhat but visited the hospital on my way back in late evening and was shocked to see the conditions. Later I wrote a letter to the Director, ESIS giving details. Yesterday we again visited to see if our letter have had any impact. There was none."
---
Click HERE to see a video on the ESI Hospital

Comments

'Tax the top': Nationwide protests demand action as 1% control 40% of India’s wealth

By A Representative Civil rights groups across the country observed the martyrdom day of Bhagat Singh on March 23, as people from diverse backgrounds united to raise their voices against growing economic inequality. The mobilisations marked the launch of a nationwide campaign against inequality, running from March 23 to April 14 (Ambedkar Jayanti), under the banner of the “Tax The Top” campaign.

Fair prices, fresh produce: Vegetable market opens in Rajasthan tribal village

By Vikas Meshram* On 18 March 2026, the tribal village of Sajjangarh in southern Rajasthan witnessed the grand and dignified inauguration of a new vegetable market (mandi). Established through the tireless joint efforts of the Krushi Avam Adivasi Swaraj Sangathan (Bhilkuaan) and Vaagdhara, under the active leadership of the Gram Panchayat of Sajjangarh, the market is being hailed as a cornerstone for local self-governance, self-reliance, and a sustainable rural economy.

Study links sanctions to 500,000 deaths annually leading to rise in global backlash

By Bharat Dogra International opinion is increasingly turning against the expanding burden of sanctions imposed on a growing number of countries. These measures are contributing to humanitarian crises, intensifying domestic discord, and heightening international tensions, thereby increasing the risks of conflicts and wars.

Ex-IAS Atanu Chakraborty and a tale of two different Gujarat vision documents

By Rajiv Shah The likely appointment of Atanu Chakraborty as HDFC Bank chairman interested me for several reasons, but above all because I have interacted with him closely during my more than 14 year stint in Gandhinagar for the “Times of India”. One of the few decent Gujarat cadre bureaucrats, Chakraborty, belonging to the 1985 IAS batch, at least till I covered Sachivalaya was surely above controversies. He loved to remain faceless, never desired publicity, was professional to the core, and never indulged in loose talk. When he neared retirement, which happened in April 2020, first there were rumours in Sachivalaya that he would be appointed SEBI chairman, and then there was talk he would be chairman (or was it CEO?) of Gujarat International Finance Tec (GIFT) City (a dream project of Narendra Modi as Gujarat chief minister, which as Prime Minister Modi wants to promote, come what may). But, for some strange reasons, and I don’t know why, none of this happened, despite the fact...

Witnessing Iran beyond propaganda: Truth, war, and the path beyond western paradigm

By Naile Manjarrés On June 23, 2025—marked as the 2nd of Tir, 1404, on the Persian calendar—a ceasefire between Iran and Israel was announced. This "night of the decree" shifted the trajectory of global affairs; although the world may appear unchanged on the surface, we have yet to fully grasp its impact.

Environmental expert urges policy overhaul as forest and water resources face critical decline

By A Representative On the occasion of World Forest Day and World Water Day , observed on March 21 and 22, environmental voices from the Western Ghats have issued a stark warning to the Union government, calling for an urgent paradigm shift in how India manages its interconnected natural resources. In a formal communication addressed to Union Minister for Jal Shakti , Sri C R Patil , and Union Minister for Forest, Environment and Climate Change , Sri Bhupendra Yadav , policy analyst Shankar Sharma has highlighted a growing disconnect between sectoral policies and the holistic reality of resource governance.

Gujarat cadre to HDFC: When bureaucratic style hits corporate walls

By Rajiv Shah I was a little amused by the abrupt March 17, 2026 resignation of Atanu Chakraborty —a Gujarat cadre IAS officer of the 1985 batch who retired from the government in 2020—as chairman of HDFC Bank . Much of what may have led to his decision to quit this ostensibly high post—actually a non-executive, part-time role—is by now well known. I followed most of it online with considerable interest, partly because I had interacted with him umpteen times during my stint as The Times of India correspondent in Gandhinagar from 1997 to 2012.

Weaponised bravery, institutionalised cowardice as the engine of authoritarianism

By Bhabani Shankar Nayak* The insidious politics of crony capitalism is accelerating at an unprecedented pace, aided by the reckless expansion of artificial intelligence and other technologies designed not to liberate but to dominate, domesticate, and dehumanise societies. Alongside this, an illiberal politics of cowardice is emerging—serving as an accomplice to dehumanisation amid growing imperialist wars and conflicts across the world. Death in distant lands no longer stirs conscience. The push-button culture of digital screens has transformed social media into a disconnected, individualised, Hobbesian space, where the puritan pursuit of self-interest is elevated as the essence of human existence.

Moon missions and manholes: Development's drumbeat drowns out deaths in sewers

By Vikas Meshram* We proudly narrate the story of our nation’s progress. On every platform, we speak of the success of Chandrayaan , Digital India , and our rapidly growing economy. But behind this radiant picture lies a darkness—the world of sanitation workers who descend into sewers, risking their lives. This darkness is not confined to the drains alone; it runs deep within the conscience of our society.

Search This Blog