JAGATSINGHPUR: Normal life was hit in Jagatsinghpur town on Thursday due to the 11-hour bandh called by various organisations and political parties demanding establishment of a medical college and hospital (MCH) in the district and opposing the decision to shift the Rural Health Training Centre (RHTC) to Cuttack.
Members of the outfits under the banner of Jagatsinghpur Zilla Swasthya Surakhya Abhijan resorted to picketing at various places. While vehicles remained off the roads, business establishments downed their shutters due to the bandh.
The agitators said the district has a population of around 11 lakh. People are forced to spend huge amount of money to seek treatment at hospitals in Cuttack and Bhubaneswar in absence of an MCH in Jagatsinghpur.
Besides, the RHTC was established in Jagatsinghpur in 1955 and is functioning on the district headquarters hospital campus. In September this year, the Health department made recommendation to shift the centre to either Bentakar or Tangi community health centre in Cuttack.
Local BJP leader Pratap Mishra said, “We have requested the government several times to set up a medical college and hospital in the district. But all our pleas have been ignored. If our demands are not fulfilled, we will shut down the entire district.”
Among others, Congress leaders Natabar Barik and Biplab Chaudhary, state coordinator of Naba Nirman Krushak Sangathan Rashmi Ranjan Swain and representatives of different organisations joined the protests.