ROURKELA: The BJD government’s recommendation for setting up AIIMS at Sundargarh town has created a sharp political divide in tribal-dominated Sundargarh district ahead of the rural elections.
In November last year, the then Chief Secretary Asit Tripathy had recommended the Health Ministry to set up second AIIMS of Odisha at Sundargarh town by utilising the newly-constructed NTPC Medical College and Hospital (MCH).
The government made this move despite the long-standing demand of Rourkela residents for takeover of the RSP-run Ispat General Hospital (IGH) by AIIMS.
Following the recommendation, people in Sundargarh and adjacent Talsara Assembly constituencies are euphoric at the prospect of getting a top tertiary healthcare facility.
Sundargarh MLA Kusum Tete and Talsara legislator Bhawani Bhoi, both of BJP, even started mobilising support from all political and apolitical parties in this regard.
However, many doubt the possibility of AIIMS coming to Sundargarh with top BJP leaders considering it a trap of the state government to leverage rural elections scheduled in February next year. Amid similar demand from Rourkela, it is apprehended that Sundargarh district would be the ultimate loser with the Centre considering none of the locations.
Chairman of Parliamentary Standing Committee on Defence and Sundargarh MP of BJP Jual Oram said as per the MoU, NTPC has created the 500-bed MCH at Sundargarh, but the BJD government is shying away from its written commitment to run it and at the same time, wants to take false credit. “Let the BJD government first admit that it cannot run the NTPC MCH and then, the Centre would consider setting up AIIMS,” he said.
Criticising Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, the former Union Minister said the BJD government has brazenly hijacked the Centre’s resources and schemes to fool people. For similar reason, the MCH of Mahanadi Coalfields Limited at Talcher is yet to take off though a decade has passed, he added.
Refuting the charges, BJD general secretary and former Sundargarh MLA Yogesh Singh said people of Sundargarh raised the demand for AIIMS and the Naveen Patnaik government made the recommendation, showing its love for western Odisha.
Incidentally, the first phase project of converting the 700-bed IGH into Ispat Post-Graduate Medical Institute and Super Specialty Hospital is nearing completion. However, desperate moves are in place to make the super specialty hospital a branch or full-fledged AIIMS as SAIL has failed to rope in a private partner to run it.
BJP’s Birmitrapur MLA Shankar Oram said expectation of the people of Sundargarh sub-division for advanced healthcare is genuine and the State government should honour the MoU with NTPC.
CITU’s national vice-president Bishnu Mohanty said during 2009-10, the ESIC had finalised a MCH for Rourkela, but the Chief Minister tried to take it to Bhubaneswar when the UPA-II government finally cancelled it.