Odisha Man Searches In Vain For Father Missing From COVID Hospital In Cuttack

Dhenkanal: In a case of gross mismanagement, a COVID-19 patient from Dhenkanal district has been missing from a COVID hospital in Cuttack for the last two weeks. The patient’s son has now appealed to the Dhenkanal district administration to trace the whereabouts of his father.

Talking to the media on Tuesday, Pradipta Behera, a resident of Barada in Sadar block, said his father, Duryodhan Behera, was admitted to a COVID hospital in Dhenkanal town on September 29 after he tested positive for the virus.

Pradipta went to the hospital the next day to give some items of daily use to his father. However, the hospital authorities told him that his father was shifted to a COVID hospital in Cuttack.

“Later, I went to Ashwini COVID Hospital in Cuttack. But the hospital authorities told me that there is no person in the name of Duryodhan admitted to the hospital. They told me to check with the other COVID hospitals and COVID care homes in the city. Though I went to these hospitals, there was no trace of my father. Later, I approached the Dhenkanal Collector and he advised me to meet the Chief District Medical Officer (CDMO), Sujatarani Mishra. The CDMO told me to visit the SCB COVID hospital in Cuttack,” Pradipta recounted. “I do not know whether my father is alive or dead,” he added.

Asked about the matter, the CDMO said that a letter will be written to the SCB authorities to know the whereabouts of the patient.

She, however, refused to comment when asked why the patient’s family members were not informed about him being shifted to the COVID hospital in Cuttack.