Shimla (Himachal Pradesh)[India], September 15 : The All India Democratic Women's Association (AIDWA) on Tuesday organised a protest march towards the Himachal Pradesh Secretariat in Shimla against the shifting of Gynaecology OPD and ward services from Kamla Nehru Hospital (KNH) to Indira Gandhi Medical College and Hospital (IGMC), with a large number of women participating in the demonstration.
The march began from the Tolland area of Shimla, with protesters raising slogans against the state government and demanding that the Gynaecology OPD and ward at KNH be restored.
The protest also comes against the backdrop of the recent death of a woman and her newborn child at IGMC after the woman was shifted there from KNH. AIDWA leaders questioned the decision to shift the patient and alleged that adequate infrastructure for mothers and neonates was not available at IGMC.
As the protesters moved towards the Secretariat, police personnel were deployed to stop them. A confrontation took place outside the Secretariat, with AIDWA workers alleging that there was pushing and shoving and that police used force to prevent the women from proceeding further.
AIDWA Himachal Pradesh State Secretary Falma Chauhan said the issue was directly linked to women's healthcare and alleged that the government was systematically dismantling KNH.
"This is an issue related to health and, specifically, women's health. The way the government is systematically trying to dismantle Kamla Nehru Hospital, we believe that there is a bigger intention behind it. Bungalows are being built for officials and luxurious buildings are being constructed for MLAs. We oppose providing facilities to VIPs while compromising women's health. Our Janwadi Mahila Samiti will never tolerate this. We want to say that the gynae OPD should be brought back immediately. If the government wants to introduce robotic surgery, it can shift that facility to KNH as well. But in the name of robotic surgery, the entire Gynae OPD cannot be destroyed. If our demand is not fulfilled, we will intensify the protest in the coming days," she said.
"The government is using force to remove women. Police personnel are our brothers and sisters, but they used their strength and told us that there were more of us and fewer of them, and therefore we should move away. This is government repression. The more women and common people become aware of their rights, the greater the attack on the people will be,” she added.   
AIDWA Himachal Pradesh president Ranjana said the organisation had been opposing the shifting of KNH services since April and had already held several forms of protest, including a 24-hour sit-in, a demonstration at IGMC, a signature campaign, and an approach to the court.
“The demand is that the shifting of KNH should be stopped and the Gynae OPD that has been moved should be brought back. Because yesterday also a woman lost her life and a newborn child lost its life. We will not tolerate this anymore. How many more women will you take the lives of? How many newborn children will you take the lives of? IGMC does not have the infrastructure for neonates and mothers. They simply picked up the services and threw them there. This mindless shifting has been done without thinking about the consequences. We will not tolerate this at all."
Ranjana said the organisation would take its campaign to different parts of Himachal Pradesh if the government did not accept its demands.  
The AIDWA leaders also raised broader concerns over the alleged increasing cost of healthcare, expensive diagnostic tests, and special wards, demanding that women's access to affordable and specialised healthcare be protected.