A woman in her mid-40s carried her ailing husband on her back on Monday as no wheelchair was available at the outpatient department of the Raiganj Government Medical College & Hospital (RGMCH).

Photos and videos showing Salita Barman, a homemaker from Raipur village under the Raiganj block of North Dinajpur district carrying her 51-year-old husband Paritosh on her back have gone viral on social media, sparking outrage.

This has prompted Krishna Kalyani, the Raiganj MLA, to question the kind of infrastructure available at the RGMCH, which happens to be the largest state-run referral hospital in North Dinajpur district.

Sources said that recently Paritosh suffered an injury to his leg while supervising construction work in his house.

On Monday, the couple reached the RGMCH in an e-rickshaw.

However, there they found no wheelchair to take Paritosh to the outpatient department.

“I was perplexed,” said Salita. “On one hand, no wheelchair was available to carry my husband who couldn’t walk because of his injury. On the other hand, the private security personnel posted at the entrance to the hospital insisted the e-rickshaw driver leave the place quickly.”

She said she had to carry her husband as there was no alternative.

“Finding no other alternative, I asked my husband if I could carry him on
my back to the outpatient department. Somehow, I carried him to the OPD,” the
homemaker said.

Their ordeal did not end here.

As the OPD doctors examined Paritosh and advised him to get a CT scan done, Salita said they again could not find a wheelchair to go to another building for the scan.

“I again carried my husband on my back for the CT scan,” she said.

Paritosh praised his wife but expressed his disappointment with the hospital.

“It is unfortunate that there was no wheelchair. My wife had to bear the pain of carrying me since I could not walk after my injury,” he said.

As the news spread, the hospital authorities arranged a wheelchair for Paritosh when the couple left for home after Paritosh’s CT scan and some other tests.

MLA Kalyani, who also chairs the Rogi Kalyan Samiti (RKS) at the RGMCH, said the medical superintendent-cum-vice-princpal here could not evade his responsibility.

“Although I was appointed as the RKS chairman a month ago, the MSVP did not initiate official procedures so that I could assume charge. He cannot evade responsibility. It was inhuman that a woman had to carry her husband on her back for treatment,” said
the MLA.

Priyankar Roy, the MSVP, said there were adequate wheelchairs and stretchers at the hospital.

“The patient would have got a wheelchair if they had waited a little. As we have learnt, a wheelchair was arranged for him,” said Roy.