Bengaluru: As many as 10 maternity hospitals run by the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) are shut across the city because of construction and renovation work, leaving thousands of patients struggling to access affordable maternal healthcare. The closures have forced expectant mothers, particularly from low-income and migrant communities, to depend on private hospitals or travel long distances to other govt facilities.GBA, which oversees urban public health services in the city, manages six referral hospitals, 28 maternity hospitals, and two general hospitals, in addition to operating Namma Clinics and urban primary health centres. However, 10 maternity hospitals are closed as part of infrastructure upgrade, significantly reducing the availability of public maternity care in several neighbourhoods.
“In Yeshwantpur, the construction of the maternity hospital building was completed years ago, but the facility did not become operational because of the absence of essential medical equipment and supporting infrastructure. In several other locations, renovation and construction work is still under way, delaying the resumption of services,” said a senior GBA health official. “I used to go to the Shantinagar maternity hospital for all my check-ups. Now it is shut and the nearest govt hospital is far away. Private hospitals are asking for Rs 60,000 to Rs 1,60,000 for delivery, which we simply cannot afford. My husband is a daily-wage worker, and travelling so far every time is exhausting,” said Lakshmi Manikandan, a 26-year-old expectant mother from Shantinagar. Similarly, for Salma Begum, a migrant worker living in Adugodi, “My first child was delivered at Adugodi maternity hospital. This time, for my second pregnancy, the hospital was closed and I was forced to visit a private clinic where even basic tests cost so much.” The shutdown has hit daily-wage workers, migrant labourers, and economically weaker sections the hardest, as they largely rely on govt maternity hospitals for antenatal care and deliveries. With these facilities unavailable, patients are left with little choice but to seek treatment at private hospitals, often at unaffordable costs, or approach already overburdened govt hospitals elsewhere in the city.Meanwhile, administrative restructuring following the transition from Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike to Greater Bengaluru Authority and the creation of five city corporations has led to complications in hospital management. Some hospitals that earlier fell under the West zone now come under North city corporation, resulting in incomplete paperwork and administrative delays. This has also triggered salary-related issues for medical and support staff working in these institutions. “Many of the maternity hospitals currently have limited capacity, with some operating with as few as 12 beds and others with 24 or 30 beds. Under the Brand Bengaluru project, GBA has initiated plans to upgrade infrastructure and increase capacity, with about 14 hospitals being expanded to 30 beds and five others to 50 beds. This is happening at a snail’s pace,” added the health official. According to health department officials, services will be restored in a phased manner once construction work is completed. In hospitals where building work is already finished, outpatient services will be started first; inpatient services will be only after the remaining works are completed.
