Even as the Golden Temple is thronged by thousands of devotees everyday, the holiest Sikh shrine managed by the SGPC, having an annual budget of Rs 580 crore, doesn't have a proper medical care facility to fall back on in case of any untoward incident.
Though the Golden Temple Complex has two dispensaries — one being run by the SGPC and the other by the Fortis Group, they are only equipped to deal with minor cases of injury or ailment among the devotees from time to time. While the Fortis dispensary has a doctor available between 10 am and 4 pm, the SGPC dispensary is being run by a pharmacist.
Moreover, the dispensaries are located in the middle of the "sarais" (inns) on the other side of the complex and not around the main entrance of the shrine. The SGPC hasn't even put up a board to pinpoint its dispensary for the devotees. However, the Fortis authorities have placed a small board atop its dispensary door. Some SGPC officials feel that a few rooms at any of the five "sarais" (inns) in the Golden Temple Complex may be spared for providing better medical facilities.
They also opined that one or two rooms should be allocated in the 'parikarma' of the Golden Temple for meeting any medical urgency. In summers, there are cases of devotees fainting almost daily and to provide them immediate relief there should be first-aid facility in the 'parikarma', besides a couple of stretchers and wheelchairs to shift them to proper medical care, they said. He nearest proper medical care facility is the SGPC-run Guru Ram Das Hospital which may be around 2 km from the shrine but the route is marred by narrow lanes, congested markets and traffic chaos.
On the other hand, SGPC president Avtar Singh Makkar said they will soon facilitate four-five beds for the purpose and also assign permanent duty to a doctor from Guru Ram Das Hospital at the Golden Temple. He said they will also make sure that stretchers are available in the 'parikarma'. He said they have already made arrangements like putting up "shamiana" and water-sprinkling fans for the devotees in view of harsh summer.
Deputy Commissioner KS Pannu said they have deployed a mobile medical van at the shrine and they have 20 such vans in the holy city under the newly launched 108 ambulance service scheme. He admitted that it would have been better to have a proper medical facility near the Golden Temple, but said it was not possible now due to space constraints. He said they have made a provision for first aid and trauma facility in the under-construction Golden Temple Entrance Plaza.
