About 24 women from Bihar’s Khagaria underwent a tubectomy procedure at Alauli Heath Centre allegedly without the administration of anaesthesia leaving them squirming in pain. The incident happened over the weekend.
Tubectomy is a surgical method to prevent pregnancy. Local anaesthesia is generally administered at the start of the procedure.
According to a report by the Times of India (TOI), the women were fully awake and held down by health officials during the procedure.
Kumari Pratima was one of the many women who experienced the horror. “As I screamed in pain, four people held my hands tightly as the doctor completed the job. I was administered something that left me numb only after the surgery,” TOI quoted Pratima.
Another woman said she was awake during the entire surgery. “I felt severe pain when the blade made contact with my body,” she said.
According to Navbharat Times, upon hearing the screaming, the remaining seven women who were yet to undergo the procedure protested and refused to undergo the surgery.
Based on the testimonials of several women, Khagaria district magistrate Alok Ranjan Ghosh ordered an inquiry on Wednesday.
The tubectomy procedure campaign was a government-sponsored drive held through either government organisations or NGOs
NGO Global Development Initiative which was part of the campaign has been blacklisted by Alauli health in-charge Dr. Manish Kumar. According to reports, the NGO charged Rs 2,100 for every tubectomy.
Claiming that the proper amount of anaesthesia was used, Parbatta health centre in-charge Dr Rajiv Ranjan said the reason it didn’t work was because every person has a different body mechanism.
