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By:

Rajendra Joshi

3 December 2024 at 3:50:26 am

Procurement first, infrastructure later

Procurement at multiples of market price; equipment before infrastructure; no accountability Kolhapur: Maharashtra’s Medical Education and Public Health Departments have been on an aggressive drive to expand public healthcare infrastructure. Daily announcements of new centres, advanced equipment and expanded services have reassured citizens long denied dependable public healthcare. Procurement of medical equipment, medicines and surgical supplies is reportedly being undertaken at rates two to...

Procurement first, infrastructure later

Procurement at multiples of market price; equipment before infrastructure; no accountability Kolhapur: Maharashtra’s Medical Education and Public Health Departments have been on an aggressive drive to expand public healthcare infrastructure. Daily announcements of new centres, advanced equipment and expanded services have reassured citizens long denied dependable public healthcare. Procurement of medical equipment, medicines and surgical supplies is reportedly being undertaken at rates two to ten times higher than prevailing market prices. Basic economics dictates that bulk government procurement ought to secure better rates than private buyers, not worse. During the Covid-19 pandemic, equipment and consumables were procured at five to ten times the market rate, with government audit reports formally flagging these irregularities. Yet accountability has remained elusive. The pattern is illustrated vividly in Kolhapur. The Dean of Rajarshi Shahu Government Medical College announced that a PET scan machine worth Rs 35 crore would soon be installed at Chhatrapati Pramilaraje (CPR) Government Hospital for cancer diagnosis. But a comparable machine is available in the market for around Rs 6.5 crore. A senior cancer surgeon at a major cancer hospital in western Maharashtra, where a similar machine was recently installed, remarked that the gap between what his hospital paid and what the government is reportedly paying was enough to make one ‘feel dizzy’. The label of a ‘turnkey project’ does not adequately explain a price differential of this magnitude. High Costs CPR Hospital recently had a state-of-the-art IVF centre approved at a sanctioned cost of Rs 7.20 crore. Senior fertility specialists across Maharashtra note that even a modern IVF centre with advanced reproductive technology equipment typically costs between Rs 2.5 crore and Rs 3 crore. The state’s outlay is reportedly approaching Rs 15 crore. Equipment arrived in June 2025 and lay idle for months owing to indecision about the site. Similarly, digital X-ray machines approved for CPR Hospital and a government hospital in Nanded; available in the market for roughly Rs 1.5 crore; were reportedly procured at Rs 9.98 crore per unit. Doctors in CPR’s radiology department, apprehensive about being drawn into potential inquiries, reportedly resisted accepting the equipment. One departmental head was transferred amid disagreements over signing off on the proposal. What’s Wrong These cases point to a deeper structural failure: Maharashtra has perfected what might be called the ‘equipment first, infrastructure later’ model. In any public hospital, the administrative sequence ought to be: identify space, create infrastructure, sanction specialist posts, and only then procure equipment. Compounding the procurement paradox is a parallel policy decision. On 20 December 2025, the state government decided to introduce radiology diagnostic services through a Public-Private Partnership model (PPP). Following this, an order issued on 6 February 2026 authorised private operators to provide PET scan, MRI and CT scan services at six government medical college hospitals: in Pune, Kolhapur, Miraj, Sangli, Mumbai and Baramati. CPR already has a 126-slice CT scan machine and a 3 Tesla MRI scanner, with another CT scan proposed. If the PPP arrangement proceeds, the hospital could simultaneously run one PET scan machine, two MRI scanners and three CT scan machines. Medical experts warn this could lead to unnecessary diagnostic testing simply to keep machines occupied, thus exposing patients to excess radiation while government-owned equipment gathers dust. A similar pattern was seen during the pandemic, when the Medical Education Department spent hundreds of crores on RT-PCR machines, only to award swab-testing contracts to a private company. Many of those machines remain unused today.

A Spiritual Sojourn

Each year, as monsoon clouds gather over Maharashtra, lakhs of devotees set out on foot, singing and swaying in rhythm, bound for the temple town of Pandharpur. Their destination: a glimpse of Lord Vitthal on Ashadhi Ekadashi—a day that marks not only the peak of the Warkari pilgrimage but the beginning of Chaturmas, a four-month spiritual retreat in the Hindu calendar. Also known as Devshayani or Maha Ekadashi, the festival is a vibrant expression of the Warkari Sampradaya’s core values: devotion over ritual, unity over hierarchy, and simplicity over splendour.


Warkaris observe a strict fast, sing abhangs and hymns, and journey on foot to Pandharpur in acts of collective devotion and surrender. The pilgrimage and the fast are believed to purify the soul and pave the path to moksha, or liberation. Weddings and other auspicious events are paused during this period, echoing the belief that the divine, too, is in retreat. In an age marked by haste and distraction, Ashadhi offers a moment of unity, simplicity, and introspection.


The day falls on Shukla Paksha in the Ashadha month. This auspicious occasion holds profound religious and spiritual significance for devotees. A legend underpins the observance of Ashadhi Ekadashi. Mandata, a righteous king from the Raghuwanshi dynasty, once faced a crippling drought in his realm. Seeking divine counsel, he turned to the sage Angiras, who advised him to observe Ekadashi in devotion to Lord Vishnu. The king complied, and the heavens soon opened. Rain returned, and the parched land was revived. This tale gave rise to the tradition of Shayani Ekadashi


The Ashadhi Ekadashi is a timeless march of faith. It falls during the same time which invite the monsoon season in the country. On this day the devotees keep fast the whole day and they go on long walk (Payi Dindi) in huge processions to Pandharpur. It is a model of sustainable living where all warkaris walk long distances without harming the environment, carry minimal belongings, and share community meals. It demonstrates the ideology of equality and inclusiveness in religion and society which inculcate the values of devotion, simplicity, brotherhood and discipline. It also promotes and creates awareness of selfless service, community harmony and inner purity. This ritual helps to cultivate a compassionate, ethical life rooted in values. The fast is renews our spiritual path and it is a very apt and perfect thesis and syntheses of Marathi culture.


The Warkari tradition draws deeply from the teachings of Bhakti saints such as Dnyaneshwar, Tukaram, Namdev and Eknath - spiritual reformers who championed heartfelt devotion over ritual formalism. Their verses, sung as abhangs and bhajans, echo through the Wari pilgrimage, which begins in Alandi and Dehu and culminates at Pandharpur on Guru Purnima.


Devotees refer to Lord Vitthal as Mauli (mother), reflecting a bond of deep affection and surrender. Clad in traditional dhotis and kurtas, Warkaris walk, sing and dance their way to Pandharpur in a moving spectacle of colour and faith. Ashadhi Ekadashi, which marks the onset of Lord Vishnu’s divine slumber, is also observed at home with rituals, prayers, and the placement of idols, invoking harmony and blessings. The day unites people across castes, classes and geographies in a vibrant affirmation of devotion.


Ashadhi Ekadashi is a spiritual and cultural pause in a fast-paced world. It is a day of fasting, devotion and introspection. Marked by holy dips in the Chandrabhaga river, chanting and prayers to Lord Vitthal and Rukmini, it holds deep significance for the Warkari sect. But well beyond religious ritual, what it embodies in a deeper sense is surrender, simplicity and spiritual discipline. In an age of distraction and disconnection, its timeless message of unity, devotion and inner peace offers us a much-needed anchor.


(The writer is an assistant professor of English literature. Views personal)

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