BIDAR A case has been registered against two officials at Savanur Taluk Hospital in Haveri district after two patients were allegedly made to remove human waste from an overflowing sewage pit on the hospital premises, police said on Monday.
The alleged incident took place on August 28 and was recorded by local residents, with videos later circulating on social media. The footage showed two patients carrying human waste in buckets after opening the cover of a sewage pit at the hospital.
The activity was noticed by residents after a foul smell from the premises reached nearby houses. Residents entered the hospital compound and found the two men engaged in the work. Residents then asked them to stop and confronted hospital staff. After an initial evasive response and growing public anger, a municipal vehicle was brought in and the sewage pit was cleaned mechanically. “The sewage pit on the hospital premises was overflowing.
They had contacted Vanitha, a nursing supervisor at the hospital, through an acquaintance and arrived on August 28. Administrative officer Dr Shankar Hiregowda had written to the municipal authorities on August 27, requesting them to clean it, but there was no response,” Dr Nagaraj told HT.
The two men, from Hulagur village in Shiggaon taluk, had come to the hospital for medical treatment, according to residents. When questioned, the men said they were patients who had come for treatment. Haveri district health and family welfare officer Dr Nagaraj said the sewage pit had been overflowing and that the hospital administration had sought help from the municipal authorities before the incident.
