ROURKELA: The demand for a second AIIMS in Odisha grew louder with the Sundargarh District Congress Committee (SDCC) on Saturday observing a dawn-to-dusk bandh at Sundargarh district headquarters town throwing normal life out of gear.
The shutdown call evoked a spontaneous response with shops and business establishments remaining closed, while commercial vehicles kept off the roads. The SDCC members picketed government offices and got them closed.
The Congress protest came after the Health and Family Welfare department as per the MoU with the NTPC initiated the process to run the newly-constructed NTPC Medical College & Hospital (NTPCMCH) at Sankara and take admission from the 2022-23 academic year.
Earlier, the outgoing Chief Secretary Asit Tripathy, in November 2020, had moved the second AIIMS proposal to the Centre stating the NTPC MCH built at a cost of Rs 418 crore with provisions for 500 beds and 100 MBBS seats could be utilized for the purpose.
Last month, the Director of Medical Education & Training too had mooted it reiterating the state government’s view for the need for an AIIMS at Sundargarh town. In April a central team had visited the NTPCMCH for a feasibility study, but there has been no announcement from the Ministry of Health.
SDCC President BM Tripathy said the NTPC MCH, if run by the state government, would not be of any help for the deprived vast tribal and rural population of the region.
"The NTPC MCH under the state government would be another VIMSAR, which is plagued by a staff crunch and lacks super-speciality departments forcing critical patients to travel 300 km to get treated at Cuttack or Bhubaneswar. Sundargarh District Headquarter Hospital (SDHH) has been facing acute shortage of doctors too," he pointed out.
If approved, the AIIMS can ensure tertiary and quality health care to the poor rural and tribal population of not only the western Odisha region, but also the neighbouring districts of Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand, Tripathy added.
The Congress also accused the Centre and state government of showing a step-motherly mindset towards the advanced healthcare needs of western Odisha districts. Two days ago, the Sundargarh District Bar Association had written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the issue requesting his intervention.