Conditions in Indian sterilization clinics are under renewed scrutiny after a doctor was removed from his job for using a bicycle pump to inflate women 's abdomens during the procedure . Health officials in Odisha state have launched an investigation after reports that bicycle pumps were used on 56 women undergoing sterilization surgery at a government-run community health center in Banarpal , Angul district , Friday . The physician was identified as Dr. Mahesh Chandra Rout , a retired surgeon who carried out work when required for the clinic , said Odisha Health Secretary Arti Ahuja . She said he would no longer be called on to work for the clinic , and could face charges as a result of the inquiry . When contacted by CNN , Rout refused to comment . Equipment missing . Ahuja said the medical equipment that should have been used in the procedure -- a carbon dioxode insufflator -- had been provided to the clinic , and investigators would try to determine why it was not used . But Sachin Ramachandra , a health official in the district where the procedures took place , said inquiries revealed the insufflator was missing , which is why the bicycle pump had been used instead . A health official who did not wish to be named told CNN that the use of bicycle pumps in sterilization surgery was widespread . In the wake of the incident , state health officials issued a directive that all sterilizations must be carried out according to correct protocols . 'Might burst abdomen ' In sterilization surgery , the patient 's abdomen needs to be inflated to allow room to move surgical instruments . Dr. Naresh Trehan , the chief medical officer at the Medanta medical institute in New Delhi , told CNN that using a carbon dioxide insufflator allows a doctor to measure and calibrate the amount of pressure placed on the abdomen . Using a bicycle pump -- a method Trehan said he was alarmed to hear about -- is highly dangerous . `` If you use a bicycle pump , you do n't know how much air you 're pumping in and you might burst the abdomen , '' he said . Dr. Vidhyadhar Sahu , the chief medical officer for Angul district , said none of the 56 women who underwent surgery on Friday reported any problems . Deaths 'almost inevitable ' For decades , in a bid to curb population growth , the Indian government has run a nationwide sterilization program . Particularly in poorer , rural areas , where access to other forms of contraception is limited , sterilization is a popular option . Women are paid to have the operations , and doctors are given incentives to perform them . But health advocates claim that conditions at the mobile clinics where the procedures are often performed , known as sterilization camps , are sometimes unsanitary and dangerous . Last month , a surgeon was arrested on charges of negligence and attempted culpable homicide in the deaths of a dozen women who had undergone sterilization operations at a mobile clinic in Chhattisgarh , one of India 's most impoverished states , which borders Odisha . Dr. R. K. Gupta , assisted by a team of fellow medical professionals , operated on 83 women in a span of six hours , including 12 who subsequently died . Government guidelines stipulate doctors should conduct no more than 30 sterilization surgeries a day . Gupta blamed the deaths on drugs given to the women after the surgeries . Kerry McBroom , a New Delhi-based advocate with the Human Rights Law Network , told CNN at the time of the deaths that they were `` almost inevitable ... given the unsafe , unethical and unhygienic conditions that persist throughout India in these camps . '' `` You might find that there is no electricity , there is no running water , there is not enough staff in these facilities , '' she said . READ MORE : India 's sterilization program under fire after patient deaths . READ MORE : Surgeon accused of sterilization deaths arrested .
Officials in the state launch probe after doctor used bicycle pump on patients . The doctor used pump to inflate abdomens of women ahead of the procedure . Practice in India 's government - run abortion clinics have been criticized . Last month , 12 women died in Chhattisgarh state after undergoing the procedure .