BARIPADA: The alleged apathy of the Baripada municipality in repairing the approach road to Pandit Raghunath Murmu Medical College and Hospital (PRM MCH) has left patients and their family members in dire straits.
Locals complained that the road between Ganesh market to the entry point of the MCH and the Mother Child hospital is severely damaged but no steps have yet been taken by the municipal authorities in repairing them.
“The road approaching the hospital has become a death trap for patients and their attendants because of poor maintenance by the authorities,” said locals Sukanta Kumar Jew and Balaram Sahoo.The need of the hour is to repair the road immediately as patients from the interior pockets of the district and neighbouring states of West Bengal and Jharkhand too visit the hospital for treatment, they added.
The MCH staff also agreed that there were risks involved in travelling on the road. “Commuting through the said road is riskier for pregnant women and those who have recently undergone surgeries as chances of their stitches opening up is high. Also, business establishments, private clinics and medicine stores operating along the roadside lead to traffic congestion making it difficult for ambulances and other vehicles to pass through them,” a hospital staff said adding the municipality should address the issue at the earliest.
Contacted, municipality chairman Krushnananda Mohanty said that a proposal for the repair of the road was earlier sent to the Odisha Urban Development department. “The repair work is scheduled to begin by January end or February next year,” he added.