Free treatment for all women victims of acid attacks or burns at this Pune hospital

Pune A hospital here founded by the doctorson of a daily labourer and which celebrates the birth of every girl child will now set up a oneofakind burns centre that will treat all women victims of acid attacks or burns free of chargeWomen who are targets of acid attacks or dowry and torture burns shall be given completely free treatment at this centre However if there are male victims they will be charged as usual Ganesh Rakh doctor and founderowner of Medicare Hospital of Hadapsar a suburb of Pune told IANSThe idea came to Rakh a couple of months ago when a 22yearold newlymarried woman became a victim of dowry harassment She was allegedly set ablaze by her inlaws and was brought to his hospitalWe dont have the specialised treatment for such cases and the sole private hospital in Pune quoted Rs30000 per day for treatment for an indefinite period Rakh saidWhen he informed the womans family they said if they had that kind of money they would have agreed to the dowry demands and their daughter would have escaped her current fateRakh was moved by the womans plight and decided to do something about itAfter consultations with colleagues and experts he decided to set up a burns centre that offers free treatment to women victims from any part of the countryRakhs Save the Girl Child campaign launched Jan 3 2012 has already earned him a huge fan following as it celebrates its third anniversary this SaturdayIn the past three years the 50bed maternity hospital has conducted 314 free deliveries of female infants natural or through Caesarian sectionIn August 2014 Rakh took another step of opening a 15bed Neonatal Intensive Care Unit NICU at a cost of Rs2 millionThe unit offers free treatment and care to all premature female newborns till they are fit to go homeIn our modest way we have tackled the issue of female births taking care of them and now we shall pay attention to their future Rakh said explaining the philosophy behind the burns centreHe plans to use the excess income from the maternity hospital where male child birth is charged normal rates and the NICU ditto for male child in the burns centreIt will be the most modern centre of its kind in India and will cost around Rs10 million I have sought a bank loan but in case there are delays a private firm has assured us all the required equipment on a hirepurchase basis Rakh saidThe facility will be inaugurated in April he saidRakh said that even 68 years after independence many girls become victims of acid attacks are slashed by blades and married women are burnt for not meeting dowry demandsAnything happens to them and they are disfigured and shattered for life The tragedy is that a vast majority are unable to afford the expensive treatment There are government hospitals but the facilities there are basic and mostly intended to save the victims lifeBut what about preparing the victim to face society and living a normal life again as nobody looks at them socialises or employs them and all avoid them he saidThe burns centre will have a care department a sophisticated operation theatre a burns ICU plus plastic surgery and other postoperative requirementsIt will be a onestop burns centre The victims who come here will step out with a new look to face life confidently Rakh assuredGiven the financial constraints at least a dozen plastic surgeons and burns care specialists from Pune and other parts of Maharashtra have already committed to offer free services to patientsQuoting current figures Rakh said a victim with just 40 percent burns would need to spend a minimum of Rs1525 million for complete treatment which will be done for free at the Medicare Burns CentreHe said the hospital will also arrange for the lodging of the victims relatives so that they are not compelled to live in miserable conditions outsideWhen he started the hospital in 2007 after begging for loans from friends and relatives most people ridiculed his plansIf you dont charge for female childs deliveries how will you repay your Rs1 crore loan aghast lenders demandedThe son of a daily labourer Adinath now 68 years old and domestic worker Sindu now 61 Rakh who qualified as a doctor in 2001 set up a roaring private practice simultaneously completed his gynaecology specialisation and went ahead with his pet plans from day oneHailing from a very poor family in Solapur his parents migrated to Pune in search of work As Rakh was good in academics he secured scholarships in school and college till his medical degree Its now my turn to repay society Rakh said