Garbage fills Bhubaneswar Capital Hospital, with some waste piled high and other bags stuffed with refuse. The unsanitary conditions are compromising patient care as cleaning staff have gone on strike for three days.
A cleaner sits pensively outside the hospital director’s office, which has halted all cleaning operations. The stench of garbage lingers in the air, forcing everyone to walk over piles of waste. Relatives of patients struggle to live and eat in these unhygienic surroundings.
The hospital cleaners are protesting, demanding 30 days’ salary instead of 26, along with a puja bonus. They insist they will continue their agitation until officials meet their demands.
One protester remarked, “Garbage has piled up because it hasn’t been cleared. We are not happy with the situation. We’ve been protesting for three days, but the government is ignoring us.”