KUCHINDA: Union Education Minister and BJP’s Sambalpur Lok Sabha candidate Dharmendra Pradhan on Wednesday came down heavily on the state government over the state of affairs in Kuchinda sub-divisional hospital.
After visiting the hospital as part of his campaign trail, Pradhan said there are only 48 doctors out of 149 sanctioned posts in Kuchinda. Similarly, there are only 11 specialist doctors out of 18 sanctioned posts in the sub-divisional hospital. The gynaecologist post is also vacant. In four community health centres, 65 doctor posts are vacant.
“Kuchinda is a tribal-dominated, sickle cell-affected area of the state. Most of the time when farmers and labourers fall sick, there is no doctor to provide medical care to them. Is this the transformation which the government is speaking about after ruling the state for 25 years?” he questioned.
He further claimed children are suffering from malnutrition and anaemia. In Sambalpur, 40.7 per cent of children are underweight compared to age, 25.5 per cent are underweight compared to height and 36.3 per cent are underweight at birth.
Around 64.5 per cent of children and 66.7 per cent of women in Sambalpur district suffer from anaemia.
“While the Ayushman Bharat scheme has brought revolutionary changes across the country, the state government is not implementing it. The fear that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will become popular has gripped the government here. The mentality of the state government is let the Odia people suffer, but don’t let Prime Minister Modi take the credit,” he alleged.
The union minister also participated in a massive bike rally in Kuchinda. Earlier in the day, he visited the Jagannath and Mahavir Raghunath temples in Kuchinda and offered prayers to the deities. Besides, he held a meeting with the local party workers.