Gynaecologist held on graft charge

Vigilance sleuths today arrested a gynaecologist of a government hospital allegedly for taking a bribe of Rs 5,000 from a man to conduct cesarean operation of a patient.
The accused doctor, Pitha Charan Murmu, gynaecologist of Baliguda Sub-Divisional Hospital in Kandhamal, was caught red handed by the vigilance while accepting bribe, vigilance officials said.
One Pramod Ranjan Nayak of Dandapadar village under Baliguda police station, complained to the vigilance that his niece needed cesarean operation for delivery in that hospital and Murmu demanded Rs 10,000 for doing it.
The doctor was paid Rs 5,000 before the operation and it was agreed that the remaining Rs 5,000 will be given while discharging of the patient.

Nikam who has worked with Dr S H Advani, a pioneer in
medical oncology and Dr B C Goswami, Director, Government Super-speciality Oncology Hospital at Guwahati, said after he joined in 2007 as Registrar, he decided to work for poor and illiterate patients, specially from rural areas, who can't afford costly treatment.

"In the facility we have created at the Hospital, around 70-80 poor and needy cancer patients are treated daily," he said.
"Over 20000 patients are registered per year at the OPD counter of our Oncology department," Nikam added.
"Besides, we have arranged cancer awareness camps and early cancer detection camps in remote areas where facilities are not easily assessable. The camps were held in Beed, Osmanabad, Jammer, Jalgaon, Nagpur, Yevatmal, Solapur, Sendri, Kundhe (Bhiwandi) and Shahapur," Nikam, who was honoured by Maharashtra Chief Minister for his work, said.

Nikam claimed he has developed a new treatment protocol for painful skeletal metastasis and also diagnosed the rare clinical disease Birt-Hogg-Dubey syndrome clinically.
"With guidance by experts from Europe, I treated the patient successfully," he added.
Nikam received an appreciation letter from the Additional Chief Secretary, Public Health Department in 2012 after Ban Ki-moon, Secretary-General of the United Nations visited Cama and Albless Hospitals and was "very impressed" by the work at the Department and hospital.
"At a time when most doctors are chasing careers with private hospitals for descent earnings, I chose to serve with the government hospital," added Nikam.