JAGATSINGHPUR: Several socio-political outfits under the banner of Jagatsinghpur Zilla Swasthya Surakhya Abhijan on Friday staged a mass dharna in front of Jagatsinghpur district headquarters hospital demanding the establishment of a medical college.
They also protested the shifting of the local rural health training center (RHTC) from the DHH campus. The RHTC was opened on the campus of Jagatsinghpur DHH in 1955. It was, however, functioning under the SCB medical college and hospital in Cuttack.
Later, to facilitate the expansion of the hospital, the district administration along with the Health and Family Welfare department had in 2003 decided to shift the RHTC building to Tirtol block. However, the proposal was shelved after facing opposition from locals.
In 2021, the Health and Family Welfare Department decided to enhance the bed strength of the DHH from 126 to 300. But this proposal, too, could not be executed owing to a lack of space for the expansion of the DHH.
To solve the issue, an additional secretary, of Health and Family Welfare Usharani Sahoo wrote a letter to the dean and principal of SCB MCH on September 5 directing to hand over the RHTC to Jagatsinghpur DHH. It was suggested that the RHTC building could be relocated either to Bentakar or Tangi CHC as the areas are closer to SCB MCH than Jagatsinghpur.
The protesters, meanwhile, opposed the decision saying it would prevent people of the area from availing quality healthcare facilities. They said people from the district spend huge amounts of money commuting to Bhubaneswar and Cuttack to receive quality healthcare. Hence, a medical college was the need of the hour.
Congress leader Biplab Chaudhury said they had urged the district administration to set up a medical college in the district but their pleas fell on deaf ears. “If our demands are not met, we will call for Jagatsinghpur bandh on December 6,” he threatened.
Advocate Basudev Sarangi, Congress leader Natabar Barik, BJP leader Satyabrat Mohapatra, and several other political party leaders showed solidarity for the cause.