Tribesman to get free surgery, after some initial struggle

Earlier, Wenlock Hospital could not give him free treatment as his name did not figure in the BPL card

Though he remained immobile for nearly a month on the trauma ward bed of District Government Wenlock Hospital here only because his name did not figure in the BPL card of his parents, a 34-year-old Malekudiya tribesman from Chikkamagaluru district will now get the required medical care, with the intervention of social organisations and the media.

Hospital authorities on Tuesday told The Hindu that tribesman Srinivas Gowdlu from Horanadu in Mudigere taluk will undergo free surgery for his spinal cord injury under Ayushman Bharat Arogya Karnataka (ABArK) as a BPL patient. They have reportedly promised to perform the surgery on Saturday.

Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) brought Gowdlu’s plight to public domain after his friends approached the organisation as their repeated efforts to get free treatment at the government hospital to the poor tribesman failed.

After DYFI leaders Muneer Katipalla, Santosh Bajal and others intervened and Gowdlu’s friends got his name included in the BPL card, then the hospital authorities moved the file for free treatment.

Gowdlu sustained multiple spinal injuries after a fall from a tree that he was pruning in his land on August 11. He was brought to Wenlock on August 12 by his friends Uday and Ananth with the hope to get advanced treatment free since he belonged to BPL category. He was the sole bread earner of the family which has his father Manjappa Gowda, mother Yashoda and physically-challenged elder brother Ananth.

The friends were in for a shock when they were informed that Gowdlu’s name was missing in the BPL card issued in his mother Yashoda’s name. Hence, the hospital considered Gowdlu as belonging to Above Poverty Line and under ABArK, he was eligible only for 30% of the package rate of the treatment that came to around ₹60,000.

Hospital authorities asked them to bear the remaining 70% of the treatment cost and also bring an implant worth ₹25,000, needed for surgery. Gowdlu’s neighbour Sumithra, who is taking care of him in the hospital, said that friends and family could raise about ₹1 lakh donation that was spent on medicine and initial care. They were struggling to raise the additional funds, she added.