Dr Aswini Kumar Pujahari: Nerves of Steel in Health Administration

In India a Government job is considered to be the safest heaven for someone to settle in life. And especially if he is a government doctor, than it’s an icing on the cake. As compare to his salary and all other fringe benefits put together every Govt. doctor in Odisha earns more money while doing private practice.

But here in Western Odisha we got a retired government doctor who had the nerves of steel to fight the corruption that has been deeply rooted in the system. It’s not only public works departments(PWD), public distribution system(PDS) or revenue department, unfortunately police department itself is the most corrupt department out of all. Like any other government departments, corruption is being deeply rooted in public health and women welfare department of every state in India.

Fortunate were we the people of Western Odisha to had a very strict administrator who has altogether set new standards in public health department. It is Dr.Aswini Pujahari who was occupying the apex position of being the Director of Veer Surendra Sai Institute of Medical Science and Research (VIMSAR). Until recently it was the lone medical college located in Western Odisha which is imparting education to the students of ten districts. During his tenure Dr Pujahari was often in the limelight for being a ruthless administrator. But we need to know why he was so adamant while operating VIMSAR. 

Prior to occupying the position of Director Dr Aswini Pujahari has worked for almost thirty two years with Indian Air Force(IAF) as a Squadron Leader. It was where he imbibed the high standard of discipline in his work life. In India the employees of either Central Govt. or any of the State Governments are absolutely lousy. They could never match with the standard of discipline or work culture which the forces of Indian Army, Indian Navy or Indian Air Force imbibe.

It is worth a watch to know under what circumstances and the environment this stoic man was brought up in life. Aswini was born in Sonepur Dist. of Odisha at village Ghodadhar which is located at the confluence of Aung and Mahanadi rivers. He was born to a peasant family. His father was illiterate, since there was no school in and around their village. When the first ever primary school was set up in his village Aswini’s father enrolled his name in the school. While adorned in a half pant and a shirt in barefoot Aswini babu was going to school while hanging a cloth bag on his shoulder. It was where he got the elementary education of Oriya alphabets and the numeric up to 100. Aswini recalls the poor infrastructure of his school. It was made of just two class rooms and a baranda. The roof of the class rooms were made of khappar(terracotta tiles). There was no compound wall of the school so Aswini along with his batch mates collecting the Amari sticks and were digging them around and interlacing them to fence the goats from entering their school.

He recalls though the Odisha Govt. setup a primary school in his village, but the gross absenteeism by the teachers was more than that of the students. Seldom were the teachers coming to school. When Aswini reached 4^th Standard he started teaching his junior batches of Standard One to Three. One day while he was teaching his junior batch a person reached the school. He observed Aswini from the window and entered the classroom. He went near the blackboard and occupied the seat of their class teacher. While looking at this unusual behaviour of that stranger Aswini revolted saying “how could you sit on the chair of our teacher, get up from here”. That elderly man politely asked where is your teacher? Aswini said the teachers usually come around 12.00 noon. In the mean while his teacher reached hastily to the class. His teacher was stunned to look at that uninvited visitor. With a folding hands his teacher greeted the visitor. Their teacher asked all the students to stand and to prostate with the folding hands. The teacher introduced that stranger to be the School Inspector(SI) and his job is to visit and inspect different schools. In return the School Inspector told to the teacher “keep watching this lad as he has got many unusual etiquettes, this boy will go a long way in life”.

That lad appeared for Matriculation(10th) exam and spent his summer holidays while playing on the street from morning to twilight. His village was an island and was not connected with the civilised world as there was no roadway. Unlike today there were no cell phones or internet. When the holidays were over the results of the board exams were declared. His parents were least bothered to know if his son has passed at all. Aswini was getting breathless to know if he has passed the exam or not? After as many as one week his school got the exam results. In sharp contrast to other students Aswini passed the exam in the very first attempt itself that too with a First Division. The results boosted the moral of that boy and he reached Rajendra College, Balangir to take admission in Pre-University in Science. On passing out 13^th Class he applied for the medical entrance exam at Burla.

Unfortunately Aswini did not received the admit card whereas whosoever friend of him applied got the cards. After waiting for ten days the day before the exam Aswini reached the Head Post Office at Balangir. He met the Post Master and asked why he is not getting the letter. The Post Master rubbed his two hands while saying you might not be meeting their criteria or the letter may not have been despatched from Burla. Aswini moved his eyes around the dirty wooden desk of the post master. Aswini pointed his finger towards a dark brown envelop lying underneath which looked to be a government stationary. The Post Master wore his thick spectacles and he lifted the envelop. After repositioning his spects asked “who is this Aswini Kumar Pujahari?” At that moment Aswini’s joy knew no bound. He took possession of the letter and touched the feet of the Post Master and rushed northward to Burla in a bus. At evening he reached to a friend’s place. His name is Santosh Naik of Mahadebpali, who became an ENT Specialist. Dr.Santosh introduced Aswini  to a medical student who came from Manipur. Instead of asking any question that North Eastern boy tossed one multi coloured block puzzle game that he was playing. With intent concentration Aswini solved the puzzle in just five minutes. That Manipuri student was taken aback and he predicted this lad has got high aptitude and by every likelihood would qualify in the entrance exams.

Next day sharp at 10.00AM the exam bell rang. The duration of exam was of one hour. The paper carried 50 multiple questions. Aswini answered as many as 42 questions in mere 12 minutes. He thought he has answered correctly as many as 84% of the questions and that is enough to qualify the exams. He abstained himself from answering the rest eight questions, because if his answers would be wrong that would cause negative marking. Aswini stood to handover the answer sheet. The invigilator looked on his wrist watch and asked if he unable to answer the questions? But Aswini said he has completed his paper. The examiner came near to him and looked at the answer sheet. Though he took possession of the answer sheet, but said he can’t leave the room. He feared if Aswini goes out than the questions would be leaked and will hamper the sensitivity of the exams. Aswini was asked to sit in the hall calmly until bell ranged.

Aswini qualified the medical entrance examination. Then the financial condition of his father was at the worst. Because his father was a farmer. He use to earn money only once in a year by selling the yield of paddy. His village is a  non irrigated area and the cultivation of paddy was solely depends on the grace of Lord Indra to pour adequate rain during the monsoon. His mother gave money out of her hidden savings and Aswini caught a bus for Burla. He reached there at late evening around 9.00PM.

During the entire tenure of four and half years of study his father was sending  the pocket money of Rs.60/- a month so as Aswini could fill his stomach twice a day by paying Rs.1 per meal from the college canteen. Virtually every day Aswini was staying empty stomach without partaking any breakfast. Sometimes his friends were offering him couple of Singadas or biri bara during the tiffin time. In entire four and half years of MBBS course tenure Aswini was absent from college just for one day. 

Aswini never bought a single textbook of medicine during the entire four and half years of studying MBBS. Even during those days medical books were expensive as most of them were of foreign publications. Aswini had no other option except siting in the library for hours together to study the books.  He was buying either the notebooks or pens from the loan scholarship of Rs.65/- which he was getting a month. That apart he always attempted to stand first in the term exams so as to get the additional prize money of Rs.10 a month. With that money he was buying either a piece of bathing soap or the detergent powder to wash his wardrobes. Under such hardship Aswini graduated with a medical degree. So this retired doctor knows very much the value of money. Whereas today just look around how parents are doing the upbringing of their children. Children are getting so lavish that they need smart phones along with net pack so as to do the homework given by the teacher in the school. Even at this age Dr.Aswini spends every Rupee wisely that he is getting as pension from Govt. of Odisha.

On completion of house surgeonship Aswini went to PGI, Chandigarh to do junior residency. It was when the grandfather of Aswini asked him to get marry and settle in life. He questioned if there is any girl in his mind. Aswini was shy, but did not hesitate to tell the name of a batch mate of him. She was the daughter of an OAS Officer altogether. His grandfather mediated the marriage of Aswini. The relatives of the prospective girl came to the straw roof house of Aswini to do ghar dekha. They were disheartened to find the poor financial status and the abysmal social outlook of Aswini’s family. But the father of the girl was wise enough to foresee the future. He thought least there is any risk to his daughter since that lad was a topper in entire his academic career and he would definitely chisel any mountain to make his own path to trade in life. Finally Dr.Aswini married Dr.Rajalaxmi Pujahari.

With the moral support of his wife Dr.Aswini Kumar Pujahari altogether started a new innings of his life. On getting married they went to PGI, Chandigarh. From there Aswini went to AIIMS, New Delhi to do PG but he did not get the admission, because the seats were reserved only for those who passed out MBBS from their own college. But there was no space in his mind to be disheartened as Aswini had by then received the Letter of Appointment from Army Headquarters. From New Delhi Railway Station he caught a train and reached Jharsuguda from there reached his home. Aswini informed his mother he is heading for Khadagpur to  join Indian Army. She started crying while saying “no I will not allow you to join army, because if ever war occurs you will die”. But his father consoled her saying “Let him go since there is no risk to any doctors as he does not go to the front while carrying either a gun or a grenade in his hand to fight”. His job would be to cure the injured soldiers. 

In August 1982 he joined Kalaikunda Airforce Station. Finally his flight took off the ground. During 1988-91 he worked at Command Hospital of Indian Air Force at Bangalore. In 1991 he joined at Military Hospital, Prayag(Allahabad). Finally in the year 2000 he joined the prestigious Armed Forces Medical College at Pune, Maharastra. In the year 2014 he retired from there as the Head of the Department of Surgery.

But in the meanwhile Dr.Raseswari Panigrahi the MLA of Sambalpur took the initiative wholeheartedly to bring this jewel of western Odisha back to its fold. This region is left behind as compared to the eastern Odisha due to malnutrition and poor medical facilities. She lobbied in the Odisha Assembly and in the Health Department to appoint Dr Aswini Pujahari as the Director of VIMSAR, since the Institution was in a sorry state of affair. She was of the opinion no one else can fight the rampant corruption except an army officer. 

On the very first day of joining VIMSAR as the Director Dr Aswini Kumar Pujari took the bold step to ask the Admin Officer of his college to submit the land records(jamin patta) of his college. He was horrified when told there are no documents. Aswini was certain in the past fifty years the employees who were holding the office must have destroyed the documents so as their relatives would take undue advantage of the position. And it so happened in the past fifty years greedy individuals has grabbed the land of VIMSAR, on which now they have built homes, shops and even private nursing homes that are  flourishing in and around VIMSAR.

The other major problem was the mass absenteeism of doctors. The doctors during the very duty hours were going to the private hospitals that have been sprout as mushrooms in and around Burla. 

Dr Aswini Kumar Pujahari was bold enough to do the sting operations all by himself. The most infamous case was that of Dr Goutam Satpathy(MD, Pediatrics). Goutam was caught red handed while he was attending patients in a private hospital during his duty hours. The management of VIMSAR retrenched him as a result he has to make an unceremonious exit from such an institute of repute. 

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E.Kiran Mohan(The Writer)
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