I joined Bihar state government job in 1971 and was posted in Chhapra district on the bank of Ganges river as a family planning medical officer. My job was to do male and female sterilization operations, motivation for spacing of pregnancies, and looking after anse natal care for pregnant women and giving them vaccination for tetanus prophylaxis. This program was under UN sponsorship for certain period for population control.
Soon after my joining there, a devastating flood came in whole North Bihar and I took the responsibility of giving medical relief in the area allotted to me. Besides these work I had to give treatment to patients coming to my hospital. In hospital all sorts of patients used to come. I had to do minor surgery like hernia(required), luydwcole, different fractures like supra condular shaft of radius and ulna, Colleg's fracture, Encephalitis, cerebral stroke, myocardial infactures, diarrhoea dyssentry, and so on.
I had managed many cholera epidemics in 1973-74 and supervised smallpox eradication program launched by WHO.
Nearly after 10 years I was transferred to tribal development block under Chaibasa district in Jharkhand which was a apart of Bihar state at that time. In this block there was Falciparum malaria epidemic. This block covered large number of villages in deep forest. 90% population was tribal. I was not acquainted with their language, there was not a single medical shop in this block, no proper roads, no electricity, no water pumps. Their living was horrible, forest was infested with wild animals like elephants, tigers, and bears. It was very difficult to move in the area. A government jeep was the only vehicle to move in this area.
I forgot to tell you that Bihar government organized several mass vasectomy camps in all of Bihar. Doctors were deputed there to do vasectomy operations. In this process I was posted at several camps like Gopalgunj, Navada, Dumaka districts, Pakur sub-division hospitals and I used to operate at least 100 cases daily. In my whole government service life I have operated more than 30,000 vasectomy. In every hospitals of Bihar at least such camps are held thrice in a week by government order.
In my 30 years of government job, I was posted in several districts of Bihar. My last posting was as a district T.B. officer in Madhubani district, Nepal border. There I supervised T.B. eradication program, got registered a T.B. NGO to facilitate drug distribution at the door of the patient. In this NGO District Magistrate was the Chairman and Civil Surgeon was Chair person and T.B. Officer the Secretary. Besides this I had to look after the district hospital emergencies on two days in a week.
In 1980 there was Kala-azar epidemic in North Bihar. Bihar government established a research at RMRI in Patna and all govt medical officers were posted there in groups for 15 days training under Dr. Lala SurajNandan, a pediatric professor of Patna Medical College.
During training we were taken to Kala-azar infected villages and entomologist used to demonstrate in homes how sandfly was living in cracks and crevices of the dark area of external surfaces of the house.Sandflies movement was happening. They cannot fly like others housefly and cannot go more than 6 inches of height. Sandfly has more predilection toward animal blood than human blood. Only two species Phlebotomous argentipice and phlebotomous ptatratace were found for the spread of this epidemic. In this distribution they were trying to cultivate L.D. bodies on young ham muscle of calf to develop vaccine but they could not succeed.
In nutshell I would like to mention that I have managed several cholera, kala-azar, malaria epidemics besides giving treatment to all sorts of patients needing some surgical procedures, tubectomy, ovarial tumours, cesation sections, bladder stones, different fractures, forcep deliveries. etc.
Besides government job I have given my voluntary service at various places like in American Camp Hospital at Haiti (during earthquake) in 2010, Swami Sivananda Hospital, Rishikesh. In second phase of Covid-19 pandemic I have managed funds and given oxygen cylinders, oxy flow meters, masks, oxymeters to DMCH, Benipur sub division hospital, Lavani Hospital - Jhanjharpur, Bahera DHC, Janakpur Hospital-Nepal, and also sent food materials to Nepalgunj, Nepal. I distributed oxymeters in remote villages to general public to watch-for-cases and when oxygen concentration starts lowering send such patients to general hospitals.
I have worked in flood area and distributed medicines and other essential commodities. I have distributed woolen blankets among poor people during winter season in Darbhanga district villages yearly for at least 5 years.
In collaboration with Rotary Club of India I have organized free medical checkup camps and several blind relief camps. My professors and teachers of my medical college participated in these camps and distributed free medicines.
Once a fire broke out in Biraul village and whole village was gutted. I supplied humanitarian aid and distributed clothings and fluid materials with the help of police and sub division magistrate.
Comments