Even before the Mahakumbh got underway, the 100-bed hospital set up as part of the mela city has seen the birth of two babies- Kumbh and Ganga.
On Saturday the boy, named Kumbh was delivered by doctors at the hospital, while the girl, named Ganga, was born on Sunday. The parents of the former were from Kaushambhi while those of the latter were from Banda.
Kumbh’s parents were in Prayagraj to seek work, while the Ganga’s had come for a dip at the holy Sangam.
The hospital is a temporary set-up but is already functional. The Mahakumbh is set to get underway on January 13.
The 100-bed hospital on Parade Ground is the biggest and even doctors from the army will be deployed in it. There are two other 20-bed hospitals and a number of smaller eight-bed arrangements for pilgrims.
Doctors of varying streams will be available 24x7 at these setups. While there will be 291 MBBS doctors, there will also be 90 Ayurvedic and Unani specialists assisted by 181 nurses.
The Army Hospital has also set up ICUs with 10 beds each.
Gaurav Dubey, the doctor in charge of the hospital said that both mothers and their newborns were doing well. The girl child’s parents had looked upon their daughter as a blessing from the river Ganga and had thus named her after it.
“This is proof that we are well equipped to deal with any needs during the Mahakumbh,” Dubey said.
Besides regular medical facilities, one highlight of this Mahakumbh is the Netra Kumbh which will offer vision correction, cataract surgeries and spectacles for attendees. The project has a budget of Rs 9.15 crores. Those in need of higher levels of care will be referred to hospitals in their area of residence.
At conservative estimates, some five lakh devotees will be offered eye exams while three lakh spectacles will be distributed. The aim of the Netra Kumbh- which was first introduced in the 2019 Kumbh, is to raise awareness about the need for regular check-ups for eye health.
Some 150 doctors and 400 medical practitioners will offer their services at the Netra Kumbh.
