Lalu Yadav wants another ward at hospital, cities dog barks, mosquitoes

Ranchi/Patna: Jailed RJD president Lalu Yadav, currently admitted in a Ranchi hospital for medical assistance, has complained about poor hygiene, mosquito menace and barking by stray dogs and requested he be shifted to another ward, a close aide of the former chief minister said on Monday.

RJD lawmaker and national general secretary Bhola Yadav told PTI that an application has been submitted to the director of the RIMS hospital, where Lalu Yadav is admitted, with the plea that he be moved to the 100-bed paying ward, which at present has only three patients.

"We have cited the reasons also for making such a request. The waste pipe of a toilet close to his ward is clogged, emitting foul smell. This imperils the health of our leader who suffers from infections," Lalu Yadav, a close confidant of the RJD chief, said.

Bhola Yadav, who has been beside the RJD supremo for most of the time since he was sent to jail in December last year, said the lack of hygiene also leads to the menace of mosquitoes which is another potential health risk, "especially in the rainy season. Besides, there is also the problem of excessive noises."

"The post-mortem house is nearby which attracts a large number of stray dogs. Their barks and howls is a nuisance and cause immense discomfort to the septuagenarian," the RJD lawmaker said.

The lawmaker also said that being a diabetic, Lalu Yadav needs to go for regular walks, but the location of the cardiology department ward where he is lodged is "not suitable" for that.

"We have, therefore, requested that he be shifted to the paying ward, which is newly built and comparatively more clean and tidy. We hope the authorities will not have a problem with that since we are ready to pay the room rent and other charges. We did that when Laluji was admitted to AIIMS earlier this year," Bhola Yadav stated.

After spending a few months out of the jail, the RJD supremo surrendered before a CBI court in Ranchi on August 30 upon the expiry of the provisional bail granted to him by the Jharkhand High Court for medical treatment.

Lalu Yadav had recently undergone a fistula operation at a Mumbai hospital. A heart patient, he is also said to be suffering from kidney ailments.

Meanwhile, the RJD supremo's expression of discomfort at the Ranchi hospital has drawn snide remarks from the ruling JD(U) in Bihar.

"Now you have begun to fear dogs and mosquitoes. The people of Bihar had feared a lot while you were in power," JD(U) lawmaker and spokesman Neeraj Kumar tweeted, alluding to the crime rate during the 15-year-long rule by Prasad and, subsequently, his wife Rabri Devi for which the RJD has been drawing flak over the years.