Bhubaneswar, Jan. 21 -- A grim picture of government healthcare in Odisha has emerged from the Bhadrak district headquarters hospital (DHH), where an X-ray machine has remained non-functional for over a month, leaving patients deprived of the essential diagnostic services and causing severe hardship, sources said on Wednesday.

Due to the breakdown, patients are being forced to travel four to five kilometres into Bhadrak town to get X-rays done at private facilities, spending thousands of rupees out of pocket. This has hit poor and vulnerable patients the hardest, many of whom depend entirely on government healthcare services.

The prolonged disruption has triggered widespread dissatisfaction among patients and local intellectual circles,...