Over 250 Dalit and Lambani poor women, joined by Raitha Sangha, launched a padayatra (foot march) from Ranebennur to CM’s residence in Shiggaon in protest against the doctors of the government hospital for forcing them to undergo hysterectomy.
The agitating women alleged more than 1,500 women were forced to undergo surgical procedures to remove their wombs between 2010 and 2017. The then surgeon Dr Shantha P had ‘wrongly advised’ the women to undergo hysterectomy, they charged.
They demanded a CBI probe into ‘illegal removal of wombs’.
Raitha Sangha taluk president Shivaputrappa Malladad said, “The government should announce a special economic package to the affected women. Also, the government should dismiss the administrative officer of the hospital Dr Parameshwarappa for thwarting the government’s efforts to compensate the women. The government had decided to provide a compensation of Rs 45.66 crore to the affected women,” he said.
The affected women from Byadagi, Haveri, Hangal, Shiggaon and Savanur taluks will join the protest when the padayatra reaches Shiggaon on Wednesday, Malladad added.
After the forced hysterectomy on women from deprived classes came to light in 2017, a case was registered against Surgeon Dr Shantha P and he was placed on suspension. However, he was quietly reinstated in 2019 and is currently serving in Gokak taluk
hospital.
Similar cases of forced hysterectomy were reported from Kalaburagi and a few other districts in 2017.
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