KDMC Hospital Straps Cardboard on Patient's Fractured Leg in Dombivli
A patient with a fractured leg was left with pieces of discarded cardboard strapped to his limb instead of a plaster cast at the Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal Corporation (KDMC)-run Rukminibai Hospital in Dombivli on Thursday afternoon, triggering public outrage and political backlash across the region.
Ram Soni, a resident of Beturkarpada in Kalyan, was taken to the civic facility after suffering a leg injury. An X-ray confirmed a fracture, but when his son Abhay took him to the dressing room, hospital staff allegedly claimed that plaster of Paris was unavailable and demanded money to procure the supplies.
According to Abhay, the staff told them that buying four plaster rolls from outside would cost ₹800, but offered to provide them for ₹100 each. When the family could not pay, staff members reportedly placed discarded cardboard on Ram's fractured leg and secured it with a cotton bandage. A video showing the cardboard support quickly went viral on social media.
The incident prompted visits and criticism from local political leaders. Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) corporator Ganesh Landge visited the hospital and claimed staff demanded ₹400 for four rolls. Landge warned that the MNS would launch a major protest and lock Rukminibai and Shastri Nagar hospitals if civic health facilities do not improve within a week.
Former corporator and Congress leader Navin Singh and MNS Kalyan chief Harshad Patil criticized the civic administration for ongoing lapses in KDMC hospitals, citing previous complaints over vaccine and anti-venom shortages. Patil demanded the transfer or resignation of the civic commissioner and urged the state government to take over municipal hospital operations.
KDMC Mayor Harshali Thavil inspected Rukminibai Hospital on Friday evening, where she reportedly found doctors and staff absent while patients waited in queues outside closed counters. She warned staff of potential suspension if conditions do not improve.
Responding to the incident, KDMC health authorities maintained that the hospital had adequate medical supplies. Dr Deepa Shukla, head and health officer of the KDMC, stated that an internal inquiry cleared the hospital of supply shortages and identified a sanitation staffer as the person who demanded money.
Dr Shukla confirmed that the sanitation worker, identified as Mukesh Pandit, was placed under suspension under Section 4 of the Maharashtra Citizen Services Act, 1979, with a departmental inquiry ordered into his conduct.
