SAMBALPUR: A day after he was booked for forcibly entering the office of the Collector and manhandling cops, Sambalpur MLA Jayanarayan Mishra on Wednesday said he is not afraid of police case and would continue to raise his voice against poor healthcare facilities in the district.
Addressing mediapersons at the BJP office here, Mishra said that residents of Sambalpur have been facing problems in availing regular health services since the district headquarters hospital (DHH) was converted into COVID-19 hospital.
"Though the district administration had claimed that alternative arrangements were made to provide uninterrupted services to non-Covid patients in the city, people continue to suffer due to lack of proper healthcare," he said.
The MLA further said the administration is demarcating containment zones without making adequate arrangements for locals. "As a public representative, I along with other BJP workers had gone to the Collector’s office to convey the grievances of people. We also followed COVID-19 guidelines. But the police restricted us and did not allow us to enter the office. Is an MLA not allowed to enter a collectorate in a democratic country?" he questioned.
A case under Sections 143, 188, 447, 332, 353, 294, 269, 270, 336, 506, 149 of the IPC, section 7 of Criminal Law Amendment Act, Section 3 of Epidemic Disease Act and 51 of Disaster Management Act has been registered against Mishra and his Rengali counterpart Nauri Nayak.