The Community Health Center (CHC) in Pharasgaon came under fire again after doctors were forced to treat patients under mobile torchlight during a power outage. The repeated power failures and poor backup arrangements continue to raise concerns over negligence in the district’s health services. Local residents said the hospital has faced similar problems several times before due to unreliable electricity. Recently, X-ray services were suspended for days when the power system failed. Although the issue was temporarily resolved after media reports, authorities never installed a generator or permanent backup system.

 

Soon after the temporary fix, power disruptions returned—this time during active treatment hours. With no emergency lighting, doctors had to rely on their phone flashlights to attend to patients. The incident has once again exposed the health department’s habit of providing short-term solutions instead of addressing core infrastructure issues. Residents and social activists have questioned why, despite repeated complaints and past media coverage, the hospital still lacks a functioning generator. Many have accused officials of waiting for a tragedy to trigger serious action. Demands are now growing for a high-level inquiry and disciplinary measures against negligent officials.

 

A resident remarked that nothing would improve unless the judiciary stepped in and issued strict warnings to the health department and the minister in charge. Responding to the incident, Block Medical Officer Dr. Jyotirmay Prabhavati said, “This was an unfortunate situation. The power failed due to a transformer fault, and the generator could not be started because of a technical problem. We admit that our emergency backup systems are inadequate The hospital’s wiring is old and often malfunctions during power fluctuations. We have sent several written requests to higher authorities, but the necessary upgrades have not been approved.”