India, July 27 -- Proper medical facilities are among the most basic promises any government makes. Yet, after several months reporting on the health beat in Gurugram, I have realised that the biggest story inside a government hospital is often not the patient but the hospital itself.

What initially appeared to be isolated incidents gradually revealed a larger pattern. Over the past few months, I have reported on flooded basements, leaking roofs, unattended hospital waste, sewage overflows and labour rooms struggling with basic infrastructure across southern Haryana, from Gurugram to Palwal, Nuh and Faridabad.

The latest reminder came from Gurugram Civil Hospital, where the basement was flooded again after this month's rain. Water seepe...